Bitcoin skyrocketed to nearly $ 67,000 on Wednesday, surpassing the previous all-time high of $ 64,888.99. The main reason was the launch of the first Bitcoin ETF in the US - a groundbreaking moment for the crypto industry.

"This is the beginning of the normalization of digital currency," said Webull CEO Anthony Denier. "There's a lot of excitement in the space, and deservedly so," he added.

The increase follows the latest signs of cryptocurrency legitimacy.

After eight years of rejecting proposed Bitcoin ETFs, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) authorized the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO) to begin trading on Tuesday. It attracted the second largest volume on the first day of any ETF.

But rallies like this usually end up with huge declines. For example, following similar moves leading to the launch of Bitcoin futures in 2017 and the market debut of Coinbase Global (ticker: COIN) this April, Bitcoin fell more than 20%.

Other cryptocurrencies also showed steady upward movement in the wake of Bitcoin.