Bitcoin hit $60,000 on 15 October for the first time since April, as traders anticipate US regulators will approve the first exchange-traded fund to track the cryptocurrency.

Approval of an ETF that will buy bitcoin futures contracts — though not the coins themselves — would increase the cryptocurrency's legitimacy and make it easier for institutional investors to get exposure. Four applications for bitcoin futures ETFs, submitted in August, are pending approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.