The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to 11 Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including Grayscale, Bitwise, and Hashdex. The official approval was announced today, January 10.
Investors can now engage in Bitcoin trading across various platforms, such as brokerage houses, mutual funds, national securities exchanges, peer-to-peer payment apps, non-compliant crypto trading platforms, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
However, the SEC’s approval imposes safeguards to protect investors, mandating sponsors to provide transparent disclosures about the products.
The approved products will be listed and traded on registered national securities exchanges, subject to rules preventing fraud and manipulation.
The SEC commits to ensuring compliance and investigating any fraud or manipulation in securities markets, even on social media platforms.
The approval follows SEC Chairman Gary Gensler‘s recent X (Twitter) post, offering cautionary advice to crypto investors, along with tips to avoid fraud and other malicious activities.
Anticipation of the approval stirred a mix of optimism and pessimism among investors, analysts, and enthusiasts over the last year.
Matrixport analysts expressed skepticism about the SEC’s criteria matching with spot Bitcoin ETF applications.
Conversely, optimistic analysts foresaw Bitcoin’s potential surge to $160,000 in 2024, fueled by the ETF approval and an upcoming halving event. This positive outlook gained traction earlier in the month when Bitcoin rebounded to $45,000, a level not seen since April 2022.
As of now, Bitcoin is valued at $46,400, showing an 8% positive increase over the last seven days.
