Insatiable demand for bitcoin is forcing U.S. regulators to walk an increasingly fine line between opening up the booming market to investors, and shielding them from what is still a highly speculative, volatile and risky asset.
Bitcoin hit a six-month high and was within striking distance of its all-time peak on Tuesday as traders bet an anticipated listing of a futures-based U.S. exchange-traded fund could herald investment flows into cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin hovered near a six-month high early on Monday on hopes that U.S. regulators would soon allow cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETF) to trade, while global inflation worries also provided some support.
Global bond funds faced their first weekly outflow in seven months in the week to Oct. 13, due to worries that higher inflation levels would prompt central banks to roll back their crisis-era support sooner than expected.