On Friday, Bitcoin surpassed $60,000 for the first time in six months, approaching its all-time high, as traders grew optimistic that US regulators would authorise the launch of an ETF based on its futures contracts.

Digital asset investors have been waiting for the first U.S.-based exchange to launch. ETF to be approved, and bitcoin's current gain has been fueled in part by expectations of such a move, which is seen as hastening the mainstream adoption of digital assets.

Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, gained 4.5 percent to $59,030, its highest level since April 17. Since Sept. 20, its value has increased by more than half, and it is currently near to its all-time high of $64,895.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the United States is likely to allow the first bitcoin futures ETF to trade next week,  Bloomberg News reported on Thursday.

"It's commonly assumed that considerable development on a bitcoin ETF in the United States will take place in Q4," said Ben Caselin, head of research and strategy at Asia-based cryptocurrency exchange AAX.

"Before investing in a fund that owns Bitcoin futures contracts, make sure you thoroughly assess the possible risks and rewards," the SEC's investor education division warned in a tweet on Friday, he said.

The VanEck Bitcoin Trust, ProShares, Invesco, Valkyrie, and Galaxy Digital Funds are among the fund managers who have applied to launch bitcoin ETFs in the United States. In Canada and Europe, cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) launched this year.

"We've seen more institutional buildup in the last few weeks than we've seen since the (bitcoin price) fall in April," said Noelle Acheson, head of market research at Genesis Global Trading.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler has previously said, the crypto market contains many tokens that may be unregistered securities, making prices subject to manipulation and exposing millions of investors to danger.

The Bloomberg report, which cited people familiar with the case, ProShares and Invesco's proposals are based on futures contracts and were submitted under mutual fund rules that Gensler claims give "substantial investor safeguards."

A request for comment on the Bloomberg report was not immediately returned by the SEC.