Bitcoin raised after report says that U.S. SEC will soon greenlight first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund.
Bitcoin climbed $61,810 today, pushing the digital coin further toward its all-time high, as traders speculated U.S. regulators would clear the first BTC futures exchange-traded fund.
Approval of an ETF that will buy bitcoin futures contracts—though not the coins themselves—would increase the cryptocurrency’s legitimacy and make it easier for institutional investors to get exposure. Four applications for BTC futures ETFs, submitted in August, are pending approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
“Crypto ETFs are inevitable. A product like this will eventually come to fruition since there is a demand for it. It seems clear that regulators will approve some version of a crypto ETF soon, most likely by Monday. As regulators become more familiar with the space, the SEC is starting to understand how these assets are stored, secured and reconciled so that it makes sense in traditional finance,” said Chris Kline, chief operating officer and co-founder of Bitcoin IRA.
Traders are optimistic about the chances of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission giving the green light to the first bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund, according to analysts. The SEC is likely to allow the first U.S. bitcoin futures exchange-traded funds to start trading next week, a landmark victory for a cryptocurrency industry that has long sought permissions from Wall Street’s top regulator, according to a person familiar with the matter.
What’s more, the cryptocurrency’s market cap recently went past the $1 trillion-mark too. The same was a sign of the bullish sentiment in the market, especially after the lows September brought.
Prices have also continued to rally lately despite more criticism from bitcoin bear Jamie Dimon. The JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO said on the Axios HBO show earlier this month that bitcoin was “a little bit of fool’s gold” with “no intrinsic value.”
Dimon also warned on the Axios show that “regulators are going to regulate the hell out of it.” And if that wasn’t enough, Dimon called bitcoin “worthless” during a virtual appearance at the Institute of International Finance Meeting on Monday.
