In a watershed moment for the world's largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry, U.S. securities regulators on Wednesday approved the first U.S. exchange-traded fund to track Bitcoin, Chairman Gary Gensler said on Wednesday. Stated.
The agency approved applications from BlackRock, Ark Investments, 21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco, VanEck and others, according to a notice on its website.
Some products are expected to begin trading as early as Thursday.
The product, which has been in development for 10 years, is a game-changer for Bitcoin, giving institutional and individual investors the opportunity to gain exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency without directly owning Bitcoin. This will be a major boost to the cryptocurrency industry, which has been plagued by a series of scandals.
Analysts at Standard Chartered said this week that ETFs could raise between $50 billion and $100 billion this year alone, pushing the price of bitcoin up to $100,000.
Other analysts predict inflows will be closer to $55 billion over five years.
“This is a huge positive for the institutionalization of Bitcoin as an asset class,” said Andrew Bond, managing director and senior fintech analyst at Rosenblatt Securities. “ETF approval will further strengthen the legitimacy of Bitcoin.”
Bitcoin has rallied more than 70% in recent months on hopes that an ETF for the asset will be approved.
