The price of bitcoin surged past the $45,000 mark, its highest since April 2022, on speculation that the US authorities are close to approving the first mainstream crypto-focused exchange-traded funds.

The digital currency was trading on Tuesday morning at $45,817, up by 3.6 per cent in the past 24 hours, though still far below the $69,000 it touched in November 2021.

The rally comes amid industry hopes that the US Securities and Exchange Commission will approve the first exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to reflect the bitcoin spot price.

BlackRock and Fidelity are among the mainstream asset management names to have applied in a move that could throw open the bitcoin market to millions and confer respectability on a currency still associated by many with money laundering