After a full ten years of waiting, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) was forced to capitulate, “blessing” 11 new ETFs that will provide investors with the opportunity to invest in Bitcoin.
In an amusing twist of fate, the SEC twice last week announced the long-awaited decision to allow the listing of bitcoin coins; the first time on Tuesday, thanks to a hacker who temporarily managed to take control of the SEC’s Twitter account, and the second time just a day later, and for real.
On Wednesday, namely, the official deadline for making a decision passed, and the SEC ultimately met expectations. In fact, it would be more accurate to say that he didn’t have much of a choice – the only alternative was to postpone the decision, writes “Poslovni”.
The price of bitcoin soared on both occasions, along with a host of other cryptocurrencies, reaching $47,000 – the highest level since late 2021.
However, it was later announced that at 3:00 p.m. on the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Bijnens, bitcoin fell slightly in the last 24 hours – to 39,004.20 euros.
In the background of the whole story surrounding the SEC’s decision is a legal battle that the Commission lost back in August 2023, having previously refused to give the green light for the conversion of GBTC to ETF.
Gary Gensler, head of the SEC, persistently pushed the security argument to the fore, claiming that the cryptocurrency market is a real “minefield” from the perspective of small investors.
The argument, of course, has considerable weight, and examples of manipulation abound, however, the court sided with the prosecutor, guided by the opinion that this is discrimination. In other words, if small investors want to gamble, they have the right to do so, that is, the choice.
There is no doubt that this is a big step forward: (American) investors who, out of caution, fear or ignorance, have so far avoided crypto wallets and virtual trading platforms, could bet on crypto – either by investing in shares of companies that were feverishly buying bitcoin (MicroStrategy) or into ETFs active on the market of futures contracts, which also bypass the direct trading of cryptocurrencies (cash-settled) and represent a kind of surrogate for the price of bitcoin, the Croatian portal further states.
The first such, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, appeared on the stock market back in October 2021, and currently manages assets weighing two billion dollars. Optimists believe that the new generation of ETFs, based on conventional financial architecture, will attract much more capital and encourage the continuation of the positive trend.
In fact, it is difficult to adequately convey the fever that has been shaking the crypto sphere for months, in anticipation of the capitulation of the SEC; According to the established opinion, this is a key step towards the widespread use of Bitcoin.
Then again, equally optimistic announcements preceded the listing of the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF. Coincidentally or not, it was around this time that the price of Bitcoin reached an all-time high, breaking through the $60,000 mark, followed by a deep correction, marked by the collapse of a number of online platforms.
However, the die-hard followers were apparently not swayed by this.
