--- title: "Bitcoin Blasts Up to Highest Price Ever" description: "Bitcoin has crushed its highest price ever, blasting past $72,000 for the first time in its history today." date: "2024-03-11" modified: "2024-03-11" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/bitcoin-blasts-highest-price-ever" categories: - "Bitcoin" - "Blockchain" - "Cryptocurrency" - "Future Society" tags: - "bitcoin" - "cryptocurrencies" - "the digest" --- # Bitcoin Blasts Up to Highest Price Ever ![Bitcoin has crushed its highest price ever, blasting past $72,000 for the first time in its history today.]() *\Image: Getty Images\* ## Bitcoin of the Realm Bitcoin has crushed its highest price ever, blasting past $72,000 for the first time in its history today. The news comes after UK regulators announced they wouldn't stand in the way of the creation of crypto-backed, exchange-traded notes (cETNs), [*CNBC* reports](). ETNs are a type of unsecured debt securities that trade on major exchanges, kind of like a stock. The value of the mainstream cryptocurrency has [risen considerably]() since the beginning of the year, spurred on by its growing acceptance by regulators around the globe and the fading shadow of the FTX collapse. In January, the US Securities and Exchange Commission [approved]() the first US-listed exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to track Bitcoin, a "[watershed moment]()" in the country's approval of crypto. ## Professionals Only The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) noted that the new rules come with some important caveats. For one, only professional, and not retail, investors can buy ETNs, including crypto-backed ones, citing potential "harm" to consumers due to inherent risks. The FCA warned that crypto assets are "high risk and largely unregulated. Those who invest should be prepared to lose all their money." Despite the warnings, investors remain bullish on crypto, with cryptocurrency Ethereum surging past $4,000 [for the first time in two years]() last week. There's also the chance that the crypto rally isn't quite over yet. Next month, the fourth Bitcoin "halving" event is set to reduce the number of new tokens going into circulation, which is designed to maintain scarcity. Each of the three preceding halving events has led to Bitcoin rising to new highs, as [*Business Insider* reports](), which means the currency could set even more records in a matter of weeks. But given its inherent volatility, that's far from a guarantee. **More on Bitcoin:** *[Bitcoin Hurtling Toward All-Time High]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()