US regulators approve 11 bitcoin ETFs in ‘watershed’ moment that brings flagship cryptocurrency into the mainstream

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those from major asset managers like BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity and Invesco.

The approval is poised to transform bitcoin, offering institutional and retail investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without requiring them to hold it directly.

All 11 approved ETFs will begin trading on Thursday and could potentially start finding their way into mainstream portfolios, 401(k)s, IRAs and pension plans.

Despite the approvals, the SEC indicated it remained skeptical about the token, specifying that it ‘did not approve or endorse bitcoin’ in making its decision.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has approved 11 spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including those of BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise and Hashdex

The approvals are also a landmark occasion in that they mark the end of the agency’s more than decade-long objection to bitcoin ETFs – the first application for one was in 2013.

Head of financial research at Standard Chartered Bank, Geoffrey Kendrick, described the approvals as a crypto milestone.

‘We see this as a watershed moment for normalizing bitcoin participation by institutional money, and we expect approval to drive significant inflows and price upside for BTC,’ wrote Kendrick in a research note this week.

Many bitcoin investors have been eagerly awaiting the SEC approval because it will likely result in an influx of investment into bitcoin-related assets, thereby driving up its value.

In the past, ordinary retail investors who wanted to trade cryptocurrencies had to do so on crypto exchanges and incurred significant transaction fees in the process.

ETFs allow people to buy and sell shares in a fund which trades on traditional exchanges. The existence of bitcoin ETFs also make the cryptocurrency more accessible to institutional investors. 

List of the 11 spot bitcoin ETF issuers approved on Wednesday afternoon

Approval by the SEC of the spot bitcoin ETFs will increase everyday retail investors’ access to bitcoin. Pictured is the SEC seal at the agency’s headquarters in Washington, DC

The token had retreated to just over $46,500 on Tuesday afternoon but this week is treading at its highest level since March 2022. Its all time high of just under $70,000 was in November 2021

Analysts have also suggested that the approvals could have a knock on effect on other tokens.

Approval of the ETFs comes after a turbulent few days for bitcoin. On Monday it began rallying as investors increasingly anticipated its approval.

Then on Tuesday the SEC’s official account on X was hacked and a false tweet was published claiming the ETFs had been approved.

Fifteen minutes later the SEC chair Gary Gensler published a tweet from his own account clarifying the agency’s account had been hacked.