Flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, has soared beyond $60,000, following reports that the United State Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to approve the trading of Bitcoin exchange traded funds (ETF).
Bitcoin has crossed the $60,000 mark for the first time in six months, nearing its record high, as investors grew confident that the Securities and Exchange Commission would approve the launch of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on its futures contracts.
In the past, Bitcoin ETF applications have been rejected by the United States regulator, for certain reasons: The Securities and Exchange Commission had expressed concern that prices could be manipulated and liquidity might be insufficient, and that Bitcoin’s drastic price swings may be too risky for individual investors. There have also been questions about validating ownership of the coins held by funds and the threat from hackers.
But reports claim that the proposals by ProShares and Invesco Ltd. are based on futures contracts and were filed under mutual fund rules, which, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman, Gary Gensler, provide “significant investor protections.”
ProShares and Invesco Ltd are investment management firms that manage dozens of ETF products, all designed to perform specific speculative investment strategies. Other fund managers, including VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie and Galaxy Digital Funds have also applied to launch bitcoin ETFs in the United States.
Set to start trading on Monday next week, the Bitcoin ETF launch will be the culmination of a nearly decade-long campaign by the ETF industry. This, according to Luno’s head of Asia Pacific, Vijay Ayyar, is what is pushing prices up. While it is envisaged that the Securities Exchange is unlikely to reject the exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, Vijay Ayyar warned that a rejection could cause Bitcoin to crash. “We are at high time frame resistance here around 58-60K, hence a rejection on the ETF application could send Bitcoin back to 53-55K levels. But overall the trend is still bullish and there are a number of other ETF applications in the pipeline as well,” he said.
Bitcoin and the other cryptocurrencies have had their shares of highs and lows this year. A significant high for Bitcoin was when it hit an all-time high of nearly $65,000 in April, before slumping sharply on the heels of China’s crypto ban. It has since staged a comeback, and has risen by more than half in value since September.
Despite clampdowns by governments and global regulators, Bitcoin continues to move forward. More major companies have embraced Bitcoin, and El Salvador has set the record for being the first country to make Bitcoin a legal tender. In all, the prospect of trading Bitcoin ETFs gives mainstream investors exposure to bitcoin, and would be a landmark achievement for the crypto industry in the United States, and the world at large.
As of the time of this draft, Bitcoin was trading at $59,986.40.
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