Bitcoin’s upward trajectory continued on Monday, with the cryptocurrency surging past $41,700 hours after hitting $40,000 on Sunday afternoon. Per data from CoinGecko, the price of Bitcoin currently stands at just over $41,600, up 5.6% on the day and over 11% on the week. Just one year ago, Bitcoin’s price stood at just under $17,000, with the cryptocurrency surging by over 144% in the past year. Bitcoin’s rally has seen its price reach levels not seen since April 2022, helping to boost the market cap of all cryptocurrencies to $1.61 trillion, up 3.6% in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGlass, Bitcoin’s price surge has seen over $166 million in short derivatives positions liquidated in the last 24 hours.

Bitcoin’s price movement over the weekend appears to be linked to renewed enthusiasm over the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). In recent weeks, the regulator has met with applicants including Grayscale and BlackRock to discuss amendments to their applications, while analysts have zeroed in on three key dates in January when a window would open for the SEC to approve multiple applications simultaneously. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts have put the odds of the SEC approving a Bitcoin ETF in January at 90%, prompting renewed optimism among everyone from Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong to JP Morgan analysts. Of course, the SEC could yet deny any or all of the pending applications; to date it has rejected every single spot Bitcoin ETF application to cross its desk.

This article outlines the recent surge in Bitcoin’s price and the possible approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by the US SEC. Analysts have put the odds of the SEC approving a Bitcoin ETF in January at 90%, and the news has generated renewed optimism among many. However, the SEC could yet deny any or all of the pending applications, as it has done in the past. #Bitcoin #ETF #Cryptocurrency #SEC #Investment

You can read more about this topic here: Decrypt: Bitcoin Blasts Past $41,000 as $166 Million in Shorts Liquidated

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A French court cleared two brothers of criminal charges stemming from February’s $8.5 million Platypus Finance hack. Mohammed M., 22, orchestrated the complex flash loan attack and exploited a smart contract vulnerability to drain funds from the Avalanche-based automated market maker (AMM) project. However, the court ruled Mohammed’s unauthorized yet publicly accessible use of smart contracts did not constitute illegal computer system intrusion under criminal statutes. Furthermore, utilizing Platypus’s flawed emergency withdrawal mechanism to siphon tokens failed to pass legal tests for fraud in the judges’ view. The prosecution’s failure serves as a showcase for DeFi criminal enforcement’s emerging jurisdiction. Although defrauded protocols can still file a lawsuit for damages in a civil court, given the novelty and worldwide reach of decentralized networks, more clarification is needed under criminal regulations. This is good news for those involved, as they were able to avoid criminal charges. However, it highlights the difficulties enforcement agencies face in regulating decentralized networks. #CryptoCrime #DeFi #DecentralizedNetworks #SmartContracts

You can read more about this topic here: Watcher Guru: French Court Acquits Platypus Hackers of $8.5M Heist

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Bitcoin’s recent rebound continued over the weekend, with the cryptocurrency passing the $40,000 mark on Sunday afternoon. It is the first time since April 2022 that Bitcoin has seen such a high price, representing a 15% climb over the past 30 days and more than doubling since this time last year. The increasing price reflects optimism surrounding the potential approval of a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Ethereum is also trading above $2,200 today for the first time since May 2022, and various NFT projects have seen rising prices this weekend. This is good news for cryptocurrency investors, as the market is showing continued signs of growth. #Bitcoin #Ethereum #Cryptocurrency #NFTs

You can read more about this topic here: Decrypt: Bitcoin Hits $40,000 for First Time Since April 2022

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Cryptocurrency Giant Bitcoin Reaches Record High of $40,000 – What Does it Mean? first appeared on Byte Syze Crypto.