The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has granted official approval for the listing of the inaugural spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs).
“Today, the Commission approved the listing and trading of a number of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) shares,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler.
“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.”
This development represents a historic milestone in the integration of Bitcoin into traditional financial markets.
The approval follows a period of careful consideration and anticipation regarding the introduction of spot Bitcoin ETFs. This culminated in a drum-filled finale over the last 48 hours whereby the SEC released a tweet declaring the ETFs approved, only for Chairman, Gary Gensler, to claim the organization’s X (Twitter) account had been hacked.
However there was high expectation that the ETFs would nevertheless be approved, and the announcement came via a notice by Secretary Vanessa Countryman.
Below are the 11 approved Bitcoin ETF products:
- Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)
- ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)
- WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW)
- Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO)
- Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)
- VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)
- Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)
- Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC)
- Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR)
- Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)
- Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI)
The debut of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States is anticipated to create unprecedented opportunities for both institutional and retail investors, providing a more accessible and regulated avenue to participate in the expanding Bitcoin market.
Industry analysts forecast that the approval of these ETFs will act as a catalyst, prompting a significant influx of institutional capital into Bitcoin. This influx has the potential to drive BTC’s value to new all-time highs and further establish its standing as a legitimate asset class.
The exact launch date of the ETFs is expected on January 11 2024. Investors and Bitcoin enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the debut of the ETFs on major stock exchanges, expecting their introduction to influence market dynamics and investor sentiment.
Commenting on the overall crypto space however, Gensler said:
“Importantly, today’s Commission action is cabined to ETPs holding one non-security commodity, Bitcoin. It should in no way signal the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities. Nor does the approval signal anything about the Commission’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or about the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws.
As I’ve said in the past, and without prejudging any one crypto asset, the vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and thus subject to the federal securities laws.”
