Some elements of this story were previously reported by Benzinga, and it has been updated.

The world's largest digital currency Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) broke the $31,000 ceiling on Friday, ending the week with gains of about 19% and hitting a 52-week high amid heightened interest in the crypto industry from traditional finance firms.

The crypto is trading at $30,585 levels on Sunday afternoon, at the time of writing, up 15.2% over the past seven days.

Meanwhile, Ether (CRYPTO: ETH) was trading at $1,890 levels, 9% higher over the past seven days.

Other major cryptocurrencies like Cardano (CRYPTO: ADA) and Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), were trading 3%, 7%, 10.1% and 6.6% higher on the week, while others like Binance Coin (CRYPTO: BNB), Ripple (CRYPTO: XRP) retreated on Sunday to trade down 3% and 0.5%, respectively.

What's Driving Crypto Price Action? The renewed optimism in the crypto market apparently stems from investor confidence in digital currencies, with prominent asset management firms filing for Bitcoin ETFs, notwithstanding the Securities and Exchange Commission's staunch opposition of cryptos.

WisdomTree, a leading provider of ETFs, filed an application for the launch of the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust. Additionally, BlackRock, the world's largest asset manager, sought regulatory approval for a Bitcoin ETF.

These ETFs are expected to streamline investments in Bitcoin, attracting a broader range of institutional investors.

'A Corner Has Been Turned': Bob Ras, co-founder of Sologenic, a blockchain-powered network for tokenizing securities, told Benzinga that it is no longer a time of doom and gloom in the sector, notably because big institutions like BlackRock clearly want serious exposure to the industry more than ever.

Also Read: Is Bitcoin Becoming An Election Issue? 2 Presidential Candidates Chime In

"What we are experiencing now isn’t all that different from 2019, following the previous year’s crash, with the industry recovering, building, and then preparing for the next bull cycle," Ras said. 

"When will that bull cycle happen? It’s anyone’s guess, but I suspect that the next Bitcoin halving will be a catalyst. The halving is expected to happen in April of next year or so. Whatever the case, a corner has been turned and we’ve now gone from experiencing the extreme lows to building the foundations for the next bull cycle."

Ruslan Lienkha, chief of markets at YouHodler, said the main reason for such optimism is the broad interest in crypto from the biggest financial institutions in the U.S.

"It seems that the crypto market is going to be completely restructured in the country by the biggest investment firms in the near future. More investors will have access to crypto investments with much lower risks. [It's] important to notice that a very small percentage of BlackRock or Fidelity clients interested in spot BTC ETFs are enough to move the price further north," he said.

Read Next: Crypto Ban Not The Answer: International Monetary Fund Urges Effective Regulation

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