After years of hitting a wall, the Securities and Exchange Commission finally approved spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, making the cryptocurrency more available to Main Street investors, Chairman Gary Gensler announced in a statement Wednesday.
"Today, the Commission approved the listing and trading of a number of spot bitcoin exchange-traded product (ETP) share" he wrote while also detailing a number of investor protections. "These products will be listed and traded on registered national securities exchanges. Such regulated exchanges are required to have rules designed to prevent fraud and manipulation, and we will monitor them closely to ensure that they are enforcing those rules." he added.
SEC CHAIRMAN GENSLER'S STATEMENT ON SPOT BITCOIN ETFS
The move is considered to be a game changer for cryptocurrency investors after multiple failed attempts by many firms to get the green light over the past several years.
There are about 11 ETFs with applications at the SEC including BlackRock, GrayScale and Wisdom Tree as well as Cathie Wood's Ark Invest.
"The democratization that we set out to provide our clients democratized access to innovation, both in the public markets, pure play innovation funds. And now with venture in the private markets, Bitcoin is an extension, democratization, access. We think it is going to be one of the most important assets in history" Wood said during an interview on the ‘Claman Countdown’ ahead of the SEC's announcement.
The official announcement came after Gensler's X account was "compromised" on Tuesday, erroneously announcing the approval, which was immediately retracted. Regulators are currently working with officials including the FBI to find the root cause of the breach.
SEC DUPED, X ACCOUNT HACKED, SPOT BITCOIN ETFS NOT APPROVED
Bitcoin rose to the $47,000 level before pulling back and has gained nearly 11% this year after advancing 153% in 2023. John Todaro, senior research analyst at Needham & Co. who forecasted the SEC's approval, told FOX Business in December that a price move higher could get more retail investors off the sidelines.
LIVE CRYPTOCURRENCY PRICES: HERE
BITCOIN'S BOUNCE IN EARLY INNINGS
"I think if bitcoin crosses $50,000, which is a psychological point for a lot of retail investors, I think it starts to see a wave of some of that capital come back," he said.
Bitcoin traded at an all-time high of $67,802.30 in November 2021, before sinking to the $16,000-$17,000 range, burning many.
