The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that bitcoin rose by nearly 10 per cent on Tuesday to $34,872, its highest in nearly a year-and-a-half, on mounting speculation that an exchange-traded bitcoin fund is imminent (all figures U.S.). A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that followed a 10-per-cent surge on Monday, when bitcoin posted its best day in almost a year, and the bullishness spread across the wider crypto market and into related stocks. Any approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that owns bitcoin on behalf of fund investors is predicted to fuel demand. A spot bitcoin ETF, the argument goes, would allow previously wary investors access to crypto via the stock market, ushering a new wave of capital into the sector. Bitcoin, a volatile asset with no intrinsic value and whose price has doubled so far this year, was last up 7.87 per cent at $34,020, the highest level since May, 2022. It traded above $35,000 in Asia trading hours. The second-largest cryptocurrency, ether, climbed 4.5 per cent to $1,786.30, its highest since August. Investment giant BlackRock is among several major U.S. financial firms with pending applications for bitcoin ETFs.