TOKYO: The price of bitcoin topped 10 million yen per unit for the first time at major cryptocurrency exchanges in Japan on Tuesday after regulatory approval in the United States in January of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds fueled demand.

The U.S. move made it easier for institutional investors to invest in the cryptocurrency, raising expectations that inflows of money will spill over to the yen-denominated price.

The price soared to a level about five times higher than lows marked between late 2022 and early 2023 in the wake of the failure of FTX Trading Ltd.

Cryptocurrency prices have been volatile, however, with investors suffering huge losses in past sell-offs.

“There is a stronger sense of overheating, and it’s dangerous to invest all of your assets” in cryptocurrencies, said Yuya Hasegawa, market analyst at exchange operator Bitbank Inc.

Hasegawa said, “We want investors to make sure that they are trading with exchanges registered with the Financial Services Agency and invest with surplus funds.”

JIJI Press