The US stock exchange authorities (SEC) authorized on Wednesday, January 10, the first investment fund associated with Bitcoin, a decision considered a fundamental stage for cryptocurrencies to be adopted.
After a long wait, a total of eleven ETFs have formally received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This occurred in the middle of the hack of the official SEC account on X, when an “unauthorized” post generated an atmosphere of hype after announcing the false approval of the funds. The milestone event comes during an iconic date for the crypto community.
According to what was published by the SEC, eleven Bitcoin spot ETF applications were approved. Among them are Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, iShares, Valkyrie, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton, which are expected to start trading this Thursday.
In the midst of this scenario, the president of the SEC, Gary Gensler, stated the following in an official statement:
“While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin. Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.”
Good News for Everyday Investors
Before the approval finally took place, everyday investors who intended to buy and sell digital currencies had two choices, trading on crypto exchanges and thus take on high transaction fees, or buying products that track bitcoins in more indirect ways.
Gensler added that “Today’s approval will include certain protections for investors,” among which are the following:
- “Sponsors of bitcoin ETPs will be required to provide full, fair, and truthful disclosure about the products. Investors in any bitcoin ETP that is listed and traded will benefit from the disclosure included in public registration statements and required periodic filings.”
- “The products will be listed and traded on registered national securities exchanges.”
- “The Commission staff is separately completing the review of registration statements for 10 spot bitcoin ETPs simultaneously, which will help create a level playing field for issuers and promote fairness and competition.”
What Next? Reactions So Far
Standard Chartered Bank predicts that, by the end of this year, spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States would have a stash between 437,000 and 1.32 million BTC. Thus, the banking giant predicts that this important figure could translate into inflows of between $50 billion and $100 billion. It does not rule out that the price of Bitcoin could reach $200,000 by the end of 2025.
On the other hand, analyst and trader Michaël van de Poppe shared his short-term BTC price prediction. The influencer noted that the impact of the Bitcoin spot ETFs approval will have a reduced impact: “Maybe a wick towards $48k+ again and then we’ll be done.”
Concerns over the possible negative effects of today’s approval have emerged. Dennis Kelleher, president of Better Markets, a Washington D.C.-based advocacy group for tighter financial regulation, has argued that this decision “is going to open the floodgates for every type of crypto token and scam you can think of that’s going to be trying to get SEC approval.”
The Bitcoin spot ETF approval milestone comes during an iconic date for the crypto community. Exactly 15 years ago today, Hal Finney (a leading candidate to be Satoshi Nakamoto) became one of the first people to receive BTC.
By Audy Castaneda
