The US Securities and Exchange Commission reluctantly approved trading of the first bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Wednesday, saying it is still deeply sceptical about cryptocurrencies and that the agency “did not approve or endorse bitcoin” in its decision.

An exchange traded fund, or ETF, is an easy way to invest in something or a group of things, like gold, junk bonds or bitcoins, without having to buy the things themselves.

Cryptocurrency advocates hope the development thrusts the once niche and nerdy corner of the internet even further into the financial mainstream.

The regulatory greenlight has been anticipated for several months and the price of bitcoin has jumped about 70% since October.

In a twist perhaps appropriate for the unpredictable crypto industry, a fake tweet from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s account on Tuesday said that trading of bitcoin ETFs had been approved, but the agency had not issued any approval.

The price of bitcoin has already soared in anticipation of the SEC’s approval, with bitcoin trading at 45,890 dollars (£36,024) on Wednesday, up from about 27,000 dollars (£21,000) in mid-October.

The price had sunk as low as 16,000 dollars (£12,500) in November of 2022 following the bankruptcy of the crypto exchange FTX.