The Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) price leapt more than 9% overnight to trade for US$47,218 (AU$70,296).
BTC has retraced a tad in recent hours, currently trading for US$46,932.
That sees the world's top crypto at 21-month highs. Though it still has some way to climb before retaking the all-time highs of US$68,790 notched on 11 November 2021.
But with the latest surge, the Bitcoin price has now gained an impressive 174% since this time last year.
Here's what looks to be driving the latest gains.
Bitcoin price rises on US ETF hopes
A range of financial companies have been trying to list a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETFs) in the United States for many years now.
These ETFs will invest in the token directly, rather than via futures, more closely tracking the spot Bitcoin price.
To date, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has knocked back those applications due to the inherent risks of investing in crypto assets.
But the Bitcoin price has found renewed energy amid a pending decision from the SEC this week on whether the regulator should allow the ETFs to offer investors access to a stock market fund that invests directly in the crypto.
Sources say that if the SEC greenlights the applications, some funds could be launched as soon as next week.
The companies hoping to offer Bitcoin ETFs include BlackRock, Ark, Wisdom Tree, Invesco, Fidelity and Galaxy Digital.
Commenting on the impact the pending SEC decision is having, Greg Moritz, co-founder of Alt Tab Capital said (quoted by Bloomberg), "The bullish movement for Bitcoin is almost certainly a response to the very high likelihood that we see spot ETF approval this week."
Jad Comair, CEO of Melanion Capital agreed. Comair said (quoted by the Financial Times), "With a Bitcoin spot ETF, we're opening the doors to Wall Street."
More broadly, the Bitcoin price has been enjoying tailwinds with investor expectations growing that the US Federal Reserve will begin to cut interest rates in 2024.
When central banks began ratcheting up rates in early 2022, Bitcoin's performance proved similar to other high-risk, growth assets and plunged in value.
It's been a good 12 months for some of the other top cryptos as well, with the Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) price up 81% over the full year.
