Bitcoin sets high, tops $66,000 on mainstreaming excitement

NEW YORK (AP) — Bitcoin jumped to a record high Wednesday morning, topping $66,000, as it rides a wave of excitement about getting further mainstreamed by the financial establishment.

Bitcoin was trading at $66,109 as of 10:04 a.m. Eastern time. It’s rallied back after sinking below $30,000 during the summer to top its prior record set in April. That prior all-time high was nearly $64,889, according to Coindesk.

A day earlier, the first exchange-traded fund linked to Bitcoin attracted huge interest from investors looking to get into the surging field of cryptocurrencies. Shares of the ProShares BitCoin Strategy ETF changed hands 24.1 million in a resounding debut.

The ETF doesn’t invest directly in Bitcoin. It instead invests in the futures market tied to Bitcoin, but the industry sees the ETF as offering a way for a new class of investors to get involved in Bitcoin.