Bitcoin is down from its recent highs, and uncertainty persists about a potential boost from a U.S. exchange-traded fund

THE NEW YORK TIMES/LONDON EVENING STANDARD (Reuters) - As a result of the debut of the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund on Wednesday, the cryptocurrency fell from its all-time high reached the day before. However, with more such exchange-traded funds expected to launch, analysts are questioning the impact on cryptocurrency investment flows.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency was down 3.02 percent to $64,000, after reaching a new high of $67,016 on Wednesday.

The introduction of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which came six months after Bitcoin reached a previous high of $64,895, was a major factor in the cryptocurrency's rise.

More futures-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are on the verge of becoming available, with The Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF scheduled to begin trading on Friday on the Nasdaq under the ticker BTF, according to both Nasdaq and Valkyrie. The VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which will trade under the ticker XBTF, is scheduled to begin trading on the Cboe next week, according to the exchange.

Investors are betting that the long-awaited introduction of bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) would result in more participation from both regular and institutional investors.

However, several experts at large financial institutions expressed skepticism about how long the price increase associated with the ProShares ETF, which trades under the symbol BITO, will continue.

"Will the introduction of BITO alone result in a substantial increase in the amount of new money flowing into bitcoin? Given the plethora of investment options available to bitcoin investors currently, we have our doubts "Analysts at J.P. Morgan wrote about it in a note.

"It is believed by bulls that this ETF will serve as a new investment instrument that will allow new money to join the bitcoin markets. Those who are bearish on bitcoin see the new ETF as a merely incremental addition to an already crowded field of bitcoin investment instruments."

                                                         Riding the rollercoaster

Some market participants believe that inflation concerns, rather than the introduction of new investment products, are the primary reason for bitcoin's current rise. Click here to find out more

Many others, on the other hand, anticipated that bitcoin's most recent high will lead to greater increases this year.

According to Matt Dibb, COO of Singapore-based Stack Funds, "we believe it will continue to rise and that we may easily reach $80 or $90,000 by the end of this year." However, he cautioned that the market will be volatile.

In the last few days, traders have begun to pay high-interest rates to borrow money in order to purchase bitcoin futures, he said, "and it's an indication that we might be a little overextended, and that there could be a downturn to come."

In the last 24 hours, Ether, the world's second-biggest cryptocurrency, has gained 1 percent to $4,203, putting it near to its all-time high of $4,380, which it reached in May.