Bitcoin rallied above $60,000 on Wednesday, riding its bullish momentum to its highest levels since November 2021, as more signs emerge that cryptocurrency's "winter" has ended.

Why it matters: The digital token has gone from strength to strength in the wake of the rollout of bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have reignited broad interest in the sector.

• Bitcoin added over 6% on the day, and is now within shouting distance of its all-time high above $68,000, set in late 2021.

Zoom out: The battered crypto market's slow but steady recovery quickened in January, after the Securities and Exchange Commission finally put an end to a decade of rejections by approving a spot Bitcoin ETF.

• That move greased the wheels of Bitcoin's rally, and became a "watershed moment for SEC chair Gary Gensler, who's been a scourge of cryptocurrency," Axios Crypto's Crystal Kim noted at the time.

What they're saying: "This regulatory endorsement has instilled confidence among investors, generating new momentum for adopting crypto assets," said Antonio Ernesto Di Giacomo, a market analyst at xs.com.

• "The effects of this decision are already manifesting in the price movements observed in the market," he added.

And according to Zach Pandl, Head of Research at Grayscale, demand for the digital token is "colliding with increasingly tight supply." Soaring interest in spot ETFs pulled in an average of nearly $200 million per day this month, according to Grayscale data.

• "There is simply not enough Bitcoin to accommodate all the new demand, and so natural supply/demand dynamics are driving prices higher," Pandl adds.

Crystal Kim contributed to this article.

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Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional details throughout.