‘Landmark decision’: US regulator approves Bitcoin ETFs, boosting cryptocurrency market

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The US regulator has approved exchange-traded funds (RTFs) that invest directly in Bitcoin. Experts are calling it a landmark movement in the US financial market that will broaden access to the largest cryptocurrency on Wall Street and beyond. A green light marks a U-turn for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which for a decade rejected bitcoin ETFs due to worries they could be easily manipulated.

The US SEC approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock, Ark Investments/21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco, and VanEck, among others, according to a notice on its website. Some products are expected to begin trading as early as Thursday.

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As per the experts the move could be a game-changer for bitcoin, offering institutional and retail investors exposure to the world's largest cryptocurrency without directly holding it, and a major boost for a crypto industry beset by a string of scandals.

What are spot-bitcoin ETFs and why are they driving bitcoin prices upward?

According to Standard Chartered analysts, ETFs could draw $50 billion to $100 billion this year alone, potentially driving the price of Bitcoin as high as $100,000.

Bitcoin was last up 3% at $47,300. The cryptocurrency has soared more than 70% in recent months on anticipation of an ETF, and hit its highest level since March 2022 earlier in the week.

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The landmark decision comes after Grayscale Investments won a key victory over the SEC. A federal appeals court had overturned the rejection of Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin trust into an ETF. The court called the denial “arbitrary and capricious" because the