Bitcoin hits new high, surpassing $ 66,000

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Bitcoin hit a new all-time high on Wednesday as investors applauded the successful launch of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.

The world’s largest cryptocurrency soared more than 4% to $ 66,893.22 at noon ET, breaking a previous high of $ 64,899 set in mid-April.

Bullish comments from a legendary trader also boosted sentiment. Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones has called crypto his preferred inflation hedge over gold.

“Bitcoin would be a great hedge. Crypto would be a great hedge, ”Jones told CNBC on Wednesday. “There is a plan in place for crypto and it is clear that it is winning the race against gold right now… I think that would be a very good hedge against inflation as well. It would be my favorite over gold right now.

The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which tracks bitcoin futures speculating on the future price of the cryptocurrency, rose nearly 5% on its first day of trading on Tuesday.

Not everyone in the crypto market was impressed. Many bitcoin investors want an ETF that tracks spot prices rather than futures.

Novice investors must have become familiar with terms such as “contango”, where the futures price of a commodity is higher than its spot price, and “backward”, which is essentially the opposite.

“More products are great, but I just don’t see the point of investing in bitcoin futures ETFs when you can buy the asset in the cash market,” said Jodie Gunzberg, Managing Director of CoinDesk Indexes. .

“It’s not like oil or cattle that are not physically possible for most investors. It’s more like gold which can be easily held. Except the cost is more like oil.

Yet it is a landmark for the nascent crypto industry, which has long called for greater acceptance of bitcoin and other digital currencies on Wall Street.

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