SEC Officially Approves Bitcoin ETFs. Trading Starts Today.
The Securities and Exchange Commission late Wednesday finally approved a slew of spot bitcoin ETFs following months of anticipation. Bitcoin surged Thursday morning as the ETFs begin trading at the opening bell.
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Bitcoin ETF Green Light
The SEC gave the green light to 11 issuers that applied for bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the first wave of approvals. The filing listed ETFs from ARK Invest (ARKK), BlackRock (BLK), VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Invesco, Franklin, Hashdex and Valkyrie. Grayscale received approval to uplist GBTC to the NYSE, The Block’s Frank Chaparro reported.
The news comes just hours after the Chicago Board Options Exchange approved all six of its BTC ETF applications.
The approval means the bitcoin ETFs will start trading Thursday morning. And excitement is running high as many industry experts predict spot bitcoin ETFs will draw a wave of institutional investment.
“A spot bitcoin ETF marks the end of crypto as a ‘novel’ asset class – and the beginning of a world where it can be part of every portfolio,” Nathan McCauley, CEO and co-founder of institutional crypto unicorn Anchorage Digital wrote to IBD. “SEC approval opens the floodgates for trillions of dollars to safely flow into the digital asset ecosystem via a regulated and accessible wrapper that suits consumers and institutions of all types.”
Meanwhile, the issuers disclosed their planned management fees for the ETFs in their updated regulatory filings on Jan. 9 and 10, which range from 0.2% to 1.5% excluding waivers.
| Proposed Bitcoin ETF management fees as of Jan. 10 (Source: Bloomberg) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Ticker | Issuer | Fee (after waiver) | Waiver Details | Exchange |
| ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF | ARKB | ARK Invest & 21Shares | 0% (0.21%) | 6 months or $1 billion | CBOE |
| Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust | BITB | Bitwise | 0% (0.20%) | 6 months or $1 billion | NYSE |
| Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust | FBTC | Fidelity | 0% (0.25%) | Until July 31, 2024 | CBOE |
| Franklin Bitcoin ETF | EZBC | Franklin | 0.29% | n/a | CBOE |
| Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (conversion) | GBTC | Grayscale | 1.50% | n/a | NYSE |
| Hashdex Bitcoin ETF | DEFI | Hashdex | 0.90% | n/a | NYSE |
| Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF | BTCO | Invesco & Galaxy | 0% (0.39%) | 6 months or $5 billion | CBOE |
| iShares Bitcoin Trust | IBIT | BlackRock | 0.12% (0.25%) | 12 months or $5 billion | Nasdaq |
| Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund | BRRR | Valkyrie | 0% (0.49%) | 3 months | Nasdaq |
| VanEck Bitcoin Trust | HODL | VanEck | 0.25% | n/a | CBOE |
| WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust | BTCW | WisdomTree | 0% (0.3%) | 6 months or $1 billion | CBOE |
Bitcoin Price Reacts
Bitcoin jumped near $47,300 Thursday morning from around $45,700 Wednesday afternoon shortly after the SEC announcement. The crypto fell to near $45,500 following the Cboe approval news after recovering to around $46,000 intraday.
However, a reverse lower would be unsurprising as some experts such as ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood expect some profit-taking on the ETF news.
Bitcoin rallied to 20-month highs above $45,000 by the end of 2023 from around $27,000 in September as ETF anticipation mounted.
False Announcement
The official news comes after the SEC’s X/Twitter account was compromised Tuesday and posted a fake announcement that all the bitcoin ETF applications were approved.
“The @SECGov twitter account was compromised, and an unauthorized tweet was posted,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler wrote on X shortly after the fake announcement. “The SEC has not approved the listing and trading of spot bitcoin exchange-traded products.”
The official SEC social media account confirmed Gensler’s statement after deleting the unauthorized post.
“Today the SEC grants approval for #Bitcoin ETFs for listing on all registered national securities exchanges,” the now-deleted post read. “The approved Bitcoin ETFs will be subject to ongoing surveillance and compliance measures to ensure continued investor protection.”
Bitcoin quickly shot up to $47,900 around 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday following the social media post before dropping as low as $44,385 overnight Tuesday.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
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