- The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds on Wednesday
- These include: iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those from major issuers such as BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity and Invesco.
The approval is intended to revolutionize Bitcoin and give institutional and retail investors access to the world's largest cryptocurrency without having to hold it directly.
All 11 approved ETFs will begin trading on Thursday and could potentially find their way into mainstream portfolios, 401(k), IRAs and retirement plans.
Despite the approvals, the SEC said it remains skeptical of the token, stating that it “neither approved nor endorsed Bitcoin” in making its decision.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those from BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise and Hashdex
11 APPROVED SPOT BITCOIN ETFS
ARK 21shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)
Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC)
Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)
Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO)
VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)
WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW)
Bitwise Bitcoin Trust (BITB)
iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR)
Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI)
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
The approvals are also a milestone in that they mark the end of the agency's more than decade-long objection to Bitcoin ETFs – the first application for one came in 2013.
Geoffrey Kendrick, head of financial research at Standard Chartered Bank, called the approvals a turning point for the cryptocurrency.
“We view this as an inflection point for the normalization of Bitcoin participation by institutional money and expect the approval to result in significant inflows and price appreciation for BTC,” Kendrick wrote in a research note this week.
Many Bitcoin investors have been eagerly awaiting the SEC approval as it is likely to lead to an influx of investments in Bitcoin-related assets, thereby increasing their value.
In the past, ordinary retail investors who wanted to trade cryptocurrencies had to do so on crypto exchanges and had to pay significant transaction fees in the process.
ETFs allow people to buy and sell shares in a fund that trades on traditional exchanges. The existence of Bitcoin ETFs also makes the cryptocurrency more accessible to institutional investors.
The approval of the ETFs comes after a turbulent few days for Bitcoin. A rally began on Monday as investors increasingly awaited his approval.
Then on Tuesday, the SEC's official account on X was hacked and a false tweet was posted claiming the ETFs had been approved. Fifteen minutes later, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler posted a tweet from his own account clarifying that the agency's account had been hacked.
The SEC’s approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs will increase retail investors’ access to Bitcoin. The SEC seal is pictured at the agency's headquarters in Washington, DC
List of 11 spot Bitcoin ETF issuers approved on Wednesday afternoon
The token had fallen to just over $46,500 on Tuesday afternoon, but this week it is reaching its highest level since March 2022. Its all-time high of just under $70,000 was reached in November 2021