Bitcoin Surges Above USD 50000 In Holidays Week

Bitcoin moved above $50,000 for the first time since 13 December though the cryptocurrency trading on Friday around USD 50870.90, continued to take investors on a roller coaster ride in 2021.

One thing that stood out was how crypto went mainstream. The biggest change was El Salvador becoming the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender.

Also the year saw the first exchange-traded fund tied to bitcoin futures began to trade. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission vetoed two proposals to offer bitcoin exchange-traded funds, dealing a blow to market participants who had hoped the agency would green light the effort after approving futures-backed bitcoin funds in October.

In a notice from the SEC, this week, both of the proposals to list and trade shares of Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund and the Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF Trust failed to meet the required standards.

The SEC in October approved two bitcoin futures-based funds, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF.

Democratic SEC Chair Gary Gensler and investor advocates, reportedly worry about what they see as a lack of regulatory oversight and surveillance which heightens the potential for fraud and manipulation.