Bitcoin Continues its Journey to the Top 

Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency in the world when it comes to market capitalization.  Investors, analysts, and crypto enthusiasts are monitoring its price regularly. On October 8, it returned to beat the week’s four-month highs, climbing $2,000 in two hours.

The BTC/USD surpassed $56,150 on Bitstamp in a fresh show of bullish momentum. Two days ago, Bitcoin’s price reached $55,800, and the pair then spent Thursday consolidating. 

Moreover, amid anticipation of fresh upside from traders, talk beyond price action continued to focus on the likelihood of an exchange-traded fund approval from U.S. approval as well as its implications. There is a high chance that a futures-backed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund will get the go-ahead in October, if not a traditional spot-based product. 

But critics continue to argue that an exchange-traded fund could ultimately cause more harm than good to Bitcoin. A spot-based exchange-traded fund would be the only option attractive to large-volume institutional clients, as the futures-based alternative carries excessive risk. 

Bitcoin and institutional investors 

A note shared by one of the major banks, JPMorgan with clients is quite interesting. According to JPMorgan, the increase in price for Bitcoin was predominantly attributed to institutional investors. Notably, inflation concerns among investors triggered an interest in the usage of Bitcoin as an inflation hedge. 

Apart from institutional investors, Shark Tank star Kevin O’Leary also understands the importance of the world’s largest cryptocurrency. O’Leary now holds more crypto than gold. Kevin O’Leary stated that his investment portfolio has more significant exposure to crypto than gold. Nonetheless, O’Leary still advocates for holding both as they are two different asset classes. He also noted that comparisons between gold and Bitcoin are irrelevant. 

This summer, he signed a multi-year deal to serve as a brand ambassador and spokesperson for the FTX crypto exchange. As part of the deal, he will receive crypto assets in exchange for his promotional services. Also, he will receive equity as part of the deal with FTX. 

Despite some divisions of JP Morgan expressing a growing interest in crypto assets, CEO Jamie Dimon is not a fan of BTC. In 2017, Dimon called Bitcoin a fraud. On Monday, he stated that people waste too much time on it. JPMorgan’s CEO remains a skeptic of Bitcoin. Dimon made it clear that he has no intentions to buy Bitcoin.