SEC Announces Highly Anticipated Bitcoin ETF Decision

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs). The decision could be a ‘game-changer’ for digital assets. The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications. The world’s largest asset management company Blackrock and VanEck, WisdomTree (WT.N), Fidelity, Bitwise, Grayscale Investmens and Invesco were among the companies that applied to the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF. It is stated that the first transactions will start on Thursday. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler announced that the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETF shares have been approved. Reminding that the commission has not approved more than 20 spot Bitcoin ETF applications until March 2023, Gensler stated that they are facing a new series of applications similar to these, but the conditions have changed. Gensler recalled that the federal court in the US found the SEC's rejection of Grayscale's application in this context wrong last year, and stated that he thought the most sustainable way forward was to approve the listing and trading of spot Bitcoin ETF shares. Underlining that today's approval by the SEC was aimed at ETFs, Gensler emphasized that the decision should not indicate the Commission's desire to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities. Gensler reiterated his view that the vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and therefore subject to federal securities laws. "Bitcoin is a speculative asset" Gensler, who mentioned that today's SEC decision includes certain protections for investors, noted that full, fair and accurate disclosures should be made about Bitcoin ETFs. Gensler, noting that these products will be listed and traded on registered national securities exchanges, said, "Such regulated exchanges should have rules designed to prevent fraud and manipulation, and we will closely monitor them to ensure that they implement these rules." Bitcoin on the rise SEC approval could be a turning point for the $1.7 trillion digital asset sector. The development is important for cryptocurrencies to be accepted in mainstream financial markets. At midnight on Tuesday, an SEC account was hacked and a post was made stating that spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds were approved, then it was stated that the post was unauthorized. After the SEC approval, the bitcoin price increased by nearly 1 percent to $45,729. The cryptocurrency, which fell 64 percent in 2022, doubled in anticipation of the SEC approving ETFs in 2023.