The leading crypto suddenly spiked above $47,000 today, putting on over $5,000 in just an hour.

The sharp rally in bitcoin today by over 10% had traders scratching their heads for a plausible reason. The near vertical move melted technical resistance lines, and in what appears to have been a perfect short squeeze, had bears covering $270 million of short trades. Later, a report in the Wall Street Journal said the price of cryptos rose after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said Thursday that the US had no plans to ban cryptocurrencies.

Analyst Daniel Joe tweeted:

539 #BTC shorts liquidated in 1 minute sending #Bitcoin to 47k.

Squeeeeeeeeezed pic.twitter.com/Uf2CzvndcC

— Daniel Joe (@DanielJoe916) October 1, 2021

Powell on cryptos

In a hearing before the House Financial Services Committee, in response to a question on whether he intended to ban or limit the use of cryptocurrencies, Powell said there was no intention to ban them.

However, he had a qualifier for stablecoins. He said they were “like money-market funds, they’re like bank deposits, but they’re to some extent outside the regulatory perimeter and it’s appropriate that they be regulated.”

SEC still unsure on bitcoin ETFs

Separately, on Friday, the SEC extended the deadline of four bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) on Friday for 45 days, citing the requirement for additional time for taking a decision.

The SEC has rescheduled the approval of applications by Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust and Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF to Nov. 21, Dec. 8, Dec. 11 and Dec. 24, respectively.

Last week, SEC chairman Gary Gensler, in prepared remarks for the Financial Times’ “Future of Asset Management North America Conference,” reiterated his preference for a futures-backed bitcoin ETF, pointing to a number of open-ended mutual funds that took exposure to bitcoin futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Also last week, on Monday, while speaking at the Code Conference in Beverly Hills, California, Gensler warned that U.S. cryptocurrency markets and related platforms would “not end well” if they remained outside the purview of regulators.

Related Story: Gary Gensler Reaffirms Preference For Futures-Based Bitcoin ETFs