Bitcoin's ticker, BTC, is currently down at $29,507, but its price has seen an upward surge today, reaching an intraday peak exceeding $30,200 and achieving a new high for the past two months. This boost in Bitcoin's value today can be attributed to the recent announcement by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it would be dropping all charges against Ripple's leadership, including CEO Brad Garlinghouse. This development has been enthusiastically celebrated by the cryptocurrency community.

While the Bitcoin price may face challenges in maintaining the $30,000 level, some of the bullish momentum can be attributed to institutional investors making amendments to several spot Bitcoin ETF applications and retail investors' optimism regarding the upcoming Bitcoin supply halving.

One of the key factors behind the rise in Bitcoin's price is the growing interest from institutional investors, which has positively impacted market sentiment. Despite facing various macroeconomic challenges, the surge in Bitcoin's price above $30,000 was facilitated by a wave of spot Bitcoin ETF amendments in mid-October.

The positive momentum was further fueled by a legal victory for Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) in its case against the SEC, where U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Neomi Rao sided with GBTC on August 29. This led to numerous large institutions filing for ETFs. On October 14, Grayscale secured another victory when the SEC announced that it would not contest the decision. This development likely prompted Grayscale to file for a new spot Bitcoin ETF on October 19.

Despite multiple applicants, including BlackRock, Fidelity, ARK Invest, and 21Shares, the SEC has thus far declined to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Another factor contributing to Bitcoin's recent surge is the revival of the Bitcoin halving narrative. The next Bitcoin halving is anticipated to occur in April 2024, and analysts are debating whether this event will result in a bullish trend for BTC's price once again. Some data from Capriole Investments suggests that historically, Bitcoin has seen significant returns in the 12-18 months following each halving, with even greater performance when investing in the 4-6 months leading up to the halving.

Moreover, there is speculation that the approval of a Bitcoin ETF could address liquidity issues and potentially generate $600 billion in new demand, as reported by Capriole Investments. A parallel is drawn to gold, which experienced a 350% return after the approval of a Gold ETF, effectively ending a bear market in the precious metal.