Bitcoin hovered near the $85,000 level on Sunday, as investors weighed a new U.S. regulatory development that could broaden leveraged exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin was trading at $84,860.50 as of 8:29 AM, showing little change over the past 24 hours. The cryptocurrency has remained within a relatively narrow range after briefly surpassing the $87,000 level earlier in the week.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday approved a Cboe BZX rule amendment that allows the exchange to list six triple-leverage traded products from Volatility Shares.
These products aim to achieve three times the daily performance of Bitcoin, Ethereum, gold, silver, crude oil, and natural gas. The Bitcoin and Ethereum products will offer leveraged exposure through futures contracts rather than direct holding of the cryptocurrencies.
This approval does not mean that the products are available for trading immediately, as there are still registration requirements that must be met before the shares can be offered to the public.
This development adds a potential new avenue for investors seeking exposure to cryptocurrencies, following the SEC's separate proposal this week to amend its rules for the custody of crypto assets. This custody proposal was a major focus for Bitcoin markets on Friday.
Beyond regulation, there are signs of growing activity in the sector; CryptoJobsList recorded a total of 1,241 job openings in the cryptocurrency sector during September, compared to 382 in July. The finance sector was the most in-demand, followed by engineering and trading, while Bitcoin expertise was the most sought-after in blockchain technology.
Artificial intelligence could become an additional source of demand for blockchain infrastructure. Cathy Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, said that investors may increasingly need to monitor intermediaries as AI systems evolve from answering questions to executing transactions autonomously.
Open blockchain networks and stablecoins are being studied as potential payment infrastructures in such systems. BlackRock Inc. has indicated that AI agents may eventually pay independently for computing power, data, and other digital services, potentially creating demand for machine-to-machine payment networks.
Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, recently said that Grok was the top client for proxy traders on the Coinbase platform, although he did not provide any figures.
In a separate context, Robert Kiyosaki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, reiterated his support for Bitcoin as a hedge against monetary instability, comparing owning scarce assets to financial preparedness. His preferred assets also include gold, silver, and oil.
Cryptocurrency prices today: Altcoins mostly decline at the start of Sunday
Prices for the broader cryptocurrency range were mostly lower early on Sunday, based on the latest snapshot of the market.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, rose 0.65% to $2,694.78.
XRP, the world's third-largest cryptocurrency, rose slightly by 0.42% to $1.49.
Solana coin rose 0.98% to $120.77, while BNB coin jumped 2.51% to $786.31.
Cardano fell 0.89% to $0.24, while Dogecoin lost 0.23%.
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In the meme currency market, TRUMP coin jumped by an astonishing 112.20%, while Shiba Inu coin rose by 0.18%.
