The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that bitcoin has been distinctly listless in the past three months after starting the year with a bang, after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved spot bitcoin ETFs on Jan. 10. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says that the crypto leader has largely shuttled between $56,000 (U.S.) and $63,000 (U.S.) so far in the second half of the year -- a contrast to the first six months when it jumped 45 per cent, propelled by the launch of U.S. exchange-traded funds tracking its spot price. Market players are now eyeing possible new crypto catalysts heading into year-end and early 2025, beyond broader market-moving events such as shifts in U.S. interest rates and the American presidential election. Jake Ostrovskis, trader at U.K.-based crypto firm Wintermute, expects the upcoming launch of options on BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF, a new product he believes could attract more U.S. retail money after its approval by the SEC last month. Because regulators view bitcoin as a commodity, though, such options may also need the green light from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which oversees commodity derivatives, said Youwei Yang, chief economist at BIT Mining.