Bitcoin hits 17-month high again

Bitcoin has risen to its highest level in over 17 months, amid hopes that the Federal Reserve has finished its interest rate hikes and expectations that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds.

The largest digital token, Bitcoin, showed a 4 percent increase over the last 24 hours and was trading at $35,840 as of 10:53 AM in Singapore on Thursday. Some smaller cryptocurrencies also began to climb, including the SOL token of the Solana network, which has reached $42 with a 142 percent increase since mid-September.

Bitcoin has more than doubled in value this year, fueled by expectations that the SEC may approve applications from companies like BlackRock Inc. to launch the first ETFs that will invest directly in Bitcoin.

Michael Safai, a partner at Dexterity Capital LLC, stated, "Resistance has tightened around $35,000, but there is enough sustained momentum to make some runs toward $37,000 around the ETF news."