The price of bitcoin hit a record high Thursday, crossing above $1800 just two days after rising above $1700 for the first time.Bitcoin jumped more than 5 percent at one point, reaching a price as high as $1,839.23, according to CoinDesk.The digital currency is now up roughly 36 percent so far this month.BKCM CEO Brian Kelly says he believes the rally is driven by Japan legalizing bitcoin and institutional investors entering the digital currency universe.On April 1, Japan passed a law recognizing bitcoin as a legal method of payment and put in place capital requirements, cybersecurity regulations, employee training, and annual audits.Furthermore, the Accounting Standards Board of Japan has also started developing standards for digital currencies such as bitcoin, according to a note from Kelly."There's a tremendous amount of bitcoin influx in Japan," he said."It's one of the most popular currencies in Japan."The hedge fund manager, who runs a digital assets portfolio, says there's been a massive adoption of Bitcoin in Japan and even speculation that some major Japanese banks will start trading bitcoin as a currency like the yen, dollar and euro.

"These developments have made Japan the dominate player in the bitcoin trading market.According to data compiled by CryptoCompare, the Japanese Yen is the most popular fiat currency used to buy bitcoin," Kelly said in a note."Over 50% of the daily fiat to bitcoin trading volume is in Japanese Yen."Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari spoke positively about the potential for blockchain technology this week, saying, "I would say I think conventional wisdom now is that blockchain and the underlying technology is probably more interesting and has more potential than maybe bitcoin does by itself."But Kelly disagrees, calling bitcoin the "gateway digital currency" for other cryptocurrencies in the blockchain-technology supported space.The rally this month has also been helped by the SEC saying it would reconsider a bitcoin ETF in the U.S.— CNBC's Arjun Kharpal contributed to this reportNEW YORK The U.S.Securities and Exchange Commission plans to review its decision last month to block the listing of the first U.S.

exchange-traded fund tracking the digital currency bitcoin, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.A more-than-three-year effort by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to convince the SEC to allow it to bring the Bitcoin ETF to market stalled when the agency's staff ruled against them in March.Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government.ethereum anonymityA fund holding the currency could bring more professional investors to the asset and push its price higher.Yet bitcoin presents a new set of risks to investors given its limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting bitcoin owners and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments.bitcoin como ganhar

Bitcoin BTC=BTSP traded up 1.7 percent at $1274.99 earlier on Tuesday.The digital currency has rebounded after initially plunging following the SEC's initial decision calling the digital currency market "unregulated."CBOE Holdings Inc's (CBOE.O) Bats exchange had applied to list the ETF and appealed to the commission to review its staff's decision.The exchange did not immediately respond to a request for comment.(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Diane Craft) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles London startup Blockchain raises $40 million in fresh funding SAN FRANCISCO London-based startup Blockchain has raised $40 million (31.5 million pounds) in a fresh round of funding as the software company rides a wave of enthusiasm for digital currency technology.build bitcoin server farmHong Kong needs actual fintech, not just IPOs HONG KONG For mainland Chinese, a visit to Hong Kong feels like a voyage back in time.ethereum elon musk

At home they spend weeks without a visiting an ATM or a bank.They use mobile wallets to pay for meals, bills and cabs, or even donate to beggars; they invest their unused balance in money-market funds, still using their smartphone.But when they cross the border into the special administrative region, they leave such conveniences behind.Would-be bitcoin ETF investors are in wait-and-see mode as the Securities and Exchange Commission reconsiders whether to allow the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund to come to fruition.the bitcoin sheepTo the dismay of many, the SEC rejected the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF (COIN) in a March 10 decision, citing a lack of regulation and surveillance-sharing agreements between exchanges.litecoin analysis, responded to the SEC's verdict by filing a "petition for review" of the disapproval on March 24.bitcoin 402

Bats argued that the commission's initial conclusion "is clearly erroneous," "inconsistent with prior ETP [exchange-traded products] approval orders" and that "the manipulation concerns ... are overstated and largely theoretical.":Top tech ETFs of the yearSEC sends mixed signals about controversial ETFsThis Trump ETF trade completely unwinds Bats urged the SEC to approve its proposed rule change, which would open the door to the listing of the ETF and "provide investors access to bitcoin through a regulated and transparent investment vehicle."bitcoin berlin cafeOn April 24 the SEC agreed to consider Bats' petition for review and asked for public comments on the original disapproval order.instant bitcoin cashoutThe last of those comments was submitted on May 15, setting the stage for a new round of deliberations by the commission.High bar for approval Though hopes are high that the bitcoin ETF will eventually be approved — public comments on the fund have been largely positive — analysts aren't confident the SEC will turn around so soon after its previous negative ruling and suddenly give it the green light.

Spencer Bogart, managing director and head of research for Blockchain Capital, is skeptical that the SEC will change its tune on the bitcoin ETF."Their reason for disapproval was the underlying markets for bitcoin, which haven't changed in the weeks since they made their decision," he said."One of the issues was that Bats hadn't set up surveillance-sharing agreements with the major exchanges on which bitcoin is traded, with the purpose of identifying and stomping out market manipulation.Even if they did, a lot of those exchanges reside in jurisdictions that don't have much of a regulatory body that can go and take action against people that are doing something bad to the market."However, Bogart did leave open the possibility that the SEC's thinking could change on the ETF if a new set of people look into the matter."It is possible that, in the short time period from when the SEC disapproved to when the petition was granted, there was a significant regime change at the SEC," explained Bogart.

"You could have a different group of people who want to review the matter because they aren't sure the decision to disapprove was a good choice.I've heard whisperings that there are many people within this administration who are friendly or at least amicable to digital currencies like bitcoin."Bitcoin surging even without ETF Regardless of what the future holds for bitcoin ETFs, the digital currency itself isn't fazed.Since March 10 — the day the SEC originally rejected the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF — the price of bitcoin is up an incredible 91 percent, last hitting an all-time high of more than $2,200 on Monday.Year-to-date, bitcoin is up 130 percent.If anything, the price only accelerated on the upside after the SEC's disapproval, though most analysts attribute the surge to other factors."The big driver of the rally seems to be what's going on in Japan and Korea," noted Bogart."In Japan, recently there's been a change to acknowledge bitcoin as a legal payment method.That in and of itself wasn't significant as, generally, people don't like to spend bitcoin; they like to hold it."