Bitcoin continued its climb to all-time highs, bolstered by optimism about the upcoming launch of the first exchange-traded Bitcoin futures fund in the US by asset manager ProShares.

The largest cryptocurrency rose as much as 2.6% on Tuesday to trade around $ 63,177. This year it has more than doubled in volatile trading. The April record is just under $ 64,870.

ProShares plans to launch the fund on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday. The move is the latest sign of how cryptocurrency-related investments are becoming more common.

The prospect of increased interest in Bitcoin from institutional and retail investors is bolstering the token, whose rise in 2021 dwarfs returns on traditional assets like stocks, bonds and gold.

That’s a marked change from the middle of the year, when concerns about its energy use and a harsh crackdown on cryptocurrencies in China drove prices below $ 30,000.

“So far in October, Bitcoin has crushed all other crypto indices, indicating that Bitcoin’s season has begun,” strategists wrote in a report by Arcane Research. Meanwhile, global denominated open interest in the cryptocurrency has risen by 23%, they said, marking the fastest 18-day increase in more than seven months.

Futures contracts on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange have led the way in rising open interest and are near record highs of nearly $ 4 billion.

The futures-based Bitcoin ETF could attract more than $ 50 billion in inflows in its first year given the hype surrounding it, according to prominent Bitcoin bull Tom Lee, co-founder of Fundstrat Global Advisors.

“Bitcoin is in a strong position as it challenges the latest resistance at $ 64,000 above which a breakout will target $ 100,000,” said Rich Ross, technical strategist at Evercore ISI. “The fourth quarter offers fertile ground for the most speculative.”

Meanwhile, Grayscale Investments LLC on Tuesday said its filing as early as Tuesday to turn the world’s largest Bitcoin fund into an ETF. While the Securities and Exchange Commission has allowed the launch of a derivatives-based product, it has yet to allow the type of structure used by Grayscale, which directly owns the largest cryptocurrency.

Filing the grayscale will open a window for the SEC to reject or delay the GBTC conversion request. Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of the asset manager, has stated that the company is “100% committed” to converting GBTC into an ETF as soon as US regulators allow.