Bitcoin reached a new high for 2023 on Thursday as optimism about a possible bitcoin ETF approval grew. The price of the premier cryptocurrency increased by more than 3.5%, surpassing $37,900 for the first time since May 2022.

Ethereum also hit $2,000 while several altcoins rose by up to 10%.

The increase in bitcoin prices caused a wave of short liquidation overnight which pushed crypto prices higher, according to Clara Medalie, head of research at crypto data provider Kaiko.

"Crypto markets have been frantically seeking a catalyst amid a sea of bad news over the past year, and the ETF news has been a pleasant respite," she said. "We may witness another significant increase if [an ETF approval] occurs, or we may be witnessing the extent of it right away. It is still too early to determine if the rally has legs, but things look positive."

Other crypto assets and crypto equities followed the bitcoin price wave on Thursday.

Solana, one of the year's top performers in crypto, increased by 11%.

The tokens linked to Cardano and Polygon increased by 4% and 3%, respectively.

Shares of Coinbase, a cryptocurrency services provider, increased by 3.7% before the market opened, while Microstrategy, a bitcoin proxy, increased by 4.7%.

Block and Robinhood, which both offer crypto trading services, increased by more than 1% each.

Meanwhile, bitcoin mining stocks received larger increases. Shares of Marathon Digital and Riot, the top two mining stocks, increased by 10% and 6% respectively.

CleanSpark and Cipher Mining each increased by 7% in premarket trading.