Investing.com — Bitcoin hovered near $85,000 on Sunday as investors weighed a new U.S. regulatory development that could expand leveraged exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin traded at $84,860.5 as of 01:29 ET (05:29 GMT), little changed over the past 24 hours. The token has remained in a relatively narrow range after briefly climbing above $87,000 earlier in the week.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday approved a Cboe BZX rule change allowing the exchange to list six triple-leveraged exchange-traded products from Volatility Shares.
The products target three times the daily performance of bitcoin, ether, gold, silver, crude oil and natural gas. The bitcoin and ether products would provide leveraged exposure through futures rather than directly holding the cryptocurrencies.
The decision does not mean the products are immediately available for trading. Registration requirements must still be completed before shares can be publicly offered.
The development adds another potential route for investors seeking cryptocurrency exposure after the SEC separately proposed changes to crypto custody rules this week. That custody proposal was a major focus for Bitcoin markets on Friday.
Beyond regulation, signs of stronger industry activity are emerging. CryptoJobsList recorded 1,241 cryptocurrency job openings in September, up from 382 in July. Finance was the largest category, followed by engineering and trading, with Bitcoin the most frequently requested blockchain expertise.
Artificial intelligence could become another source of demand for blockchain infrastructure. ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said investors may increasingly need to “follow the agents” as AI systems move from answering questions to independently carrying out transactions.
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Open blockchain networks and stablecoins are being considered as potential payment infrastructure for such systems. BlackRock has argued that AI agents could eventually pay autonomously for computing power, data and other digital services, creating potential demand for machine-to-machine payment networks.
Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong recently said Grok was the leading client for agentic traders on Coinbase, though he provided no figures.
Separately, Rich Dad Poor Dad author Robert Kiyosaki reiterated his support for Bitcoin as protection against monetary instability, comparing ownership of scarce assets with financial preparedness. His preferred assets also include gold, silver, and oil.