After a false start yesterday, the Securities and Exchange Commission has filed an Order granting approval for eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs to trade on national exchanges.
According to the document:
“NYSE Arca proposes to list and trade shares of (1) the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust3 and (2) the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF4 under NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E (Commodity-Based Trust Shares), and (3) the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF5 under NYSE Arca Rule 8.500-E (Trust Units); Nasdaq proposes to list and trade hares of (4) the iShares Bitcoin Trust6 and (5) the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund7 under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d) (Commodity-Based Trust Shares); and BZX proposes to list and trade shares of (6) the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF,8 (7) the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF,9 (8) the VanEck Bitcoin Trust,10 (9) the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund,11 (10) the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund,12 and (11) the Franklin Bitcoin ETF13 under BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4) (Commodity-Based Trust Shares). Each filing was subject to notice and comment.14 “
Reports on X indicate the ETFs are already being loaded into Bloomberg, and shares may trade as soon as tomorrow.
Expectations are for Bitcoin ETFs to drive broader consumer interest in the digital asset as the ETFs will trade on regulated exchanges and be required to adhere to a higher level of compliance.
Alex Adelman, CEO and Founder of the Bitcoin rewards app Lolli, commented on the approval:
“The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs is a historical milestone for Bitcoin, signaling the dawn of a new era of mainstream Bitcoin adoption. The floodgates have now opened to even more financial products from Wall Street giants that will let everyone, from retail investors to global institutional clients, gain exposure to Bitcoin and learn more about its potential as a sound global digital currency.
While spot bitcoin ETFs give investors indirect exposure to bitcoin, we can expect to see more people custodying bitcoin directly as demand for bitcoin grows.
The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs has set bitcoin and crypto on track for its best year yet. In 2024, bitcoin will experience even more pivotal growth drivers like its Halving event, which increases its scarcity effect and historically drives up prices, as well as lower interest rates. With these strong tailwinds, bitcoin will almost inevitably continue its upward climb to new all-time highs in 2024.”
Yesterday, the SEC was embarrassed when its X account was “compromised,” and the announcement of approval jumped the gun. SEC Chair Gary Gensler took to X himself to deny the statement as erroneous. The fact that the SEC’s social media account was hacked generated critical comments on X, and a group of House Republicans announced they would be forwarding a letter to Chair Gensler to inquire about the breach.
At a House hearing today, Representative French Hill, Chairman of the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Digital Assets, Financial Technology and Inclusion, stated:
“Chairman McHenry, Subcommittee Chairmen Wagner, Huizenga, and myself will be sending a letter to Chair Gensler today to start the process of getting to the bottom of how it happened that the SEC Twitter [X] account was hacked and investors were misled yesterday on the subject of an ETF being approved for digital assets and Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin was trading around $46,000 today, holding recent highs. Some in the crypto-sphere are predicting Bitcoin will run higher in the coming months due to the new ETFs as well as the forthcoming Halving.
