The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently reviewing applications from several institutions for a spot Bitcoin ETF. The large financial companies to file for a spot ETF include BlackRock, 21 Shares & ARK Investment Management, VanEck, Invesco & Galaxy Digital, Valkyrie, Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree.
The potential approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF has increased investor certainty around BTC and sparked excitement about the looming possibility of a flood of investments pouring into the original cryptocurrency. This article will explore the latest Bitcoin news and the impact of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval.
The Pathway to Institutional Adoption
The crypto space has been buzzing ever since the largest asset manager in the world, BlackRock, filed an application with the SEC for a Bitcoin spot ETF two months ago to launch the iShares Bitcoin Trust. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, told viewers of the Fox Business program that “The role of crypto is digitizing gold.”
Fink spoke about Bitcoin’s utility as a store of value, comparable to gold. He said, “Instead of investing in gold as a hedge against inflation, [or] a hedge against the onerous problems of any one country, or the devaluation of your currency of whatever country you’re in. Let’s be clear, Bitcoin is an international asset. It’s not based on any one currency, so it can represent an asset that people can play as an alternative.”
BlackRock hopes to continue its good track record for working with regulators, as all but one of its previous 576 ETF applications have been approved.
The Possibility of a Spot Bitcoin ETF Has Profound Implications
Mike Novogratz, the founder and CEO of Galaxy Digital, joined Bloomberg Wealth to discuss the validity of Bitcoin in light of the conversion of earlier critics like Larry Fink.
According to Novogratz, the biggest thing to happen to Bitcoin this year was Larry Fink changing his position on Bitcoin. “For the CEO of the largest asset manager in the world,” Novogratz said, “this has profound implications.”
When asked if a spot Bitcoin ETF is a big change for the industry, Novogratz referenced the preponderance of the evidence of some 180 million people around the world that are investing their savings and storing them in Bitcoin.
“It’s a big, big deal,” Novogratz told shareholders during Galaxy’s Q2 earnings call on August 8. “It’s a big deal because both our contacts, from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side, get you to think that this is a question of when not if — that the outside window is probably six months.”
Bitcoin at an Inflection Point: A Changing Regulatory Environment
Michael Saylor, Co-founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy joined Natalie Brunell on the Coin Stories Podcast to talk about the “Groundswell of positive sentiment for Bitcoin.” The consummate Bitcoin maximalist referenced several factors for the reason he has “never been more bullish” about BTC’s future.
According to Saylor, the endorsement of Bitcoin by US presidential candidates — both Ron DeSantis and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. have emphatically supported citizens’ right to own Bitcoin in recent months, the changing regulatory environment, and the tone and treatment of BTC in the mainstream media are contributing to an overwhelmingly positive outlook for the king of crypto.
As the deadlines approach for the SEC to make a decision on the multiple ETFs, it is more important than ever for investors and traders to monitor the latest Bitcoin news in the coming days and weeks to see how it will all play out.