We are experiencing so much FOMO in the crypto markets, and the price is pumping like crazy as Bitcoin has surged to approximately 10% and has hit about $47,000 all in anticipation of the Bitcoin spot ETF being approved by multiple applicants.
Crypto investors are eagerly awaiting a decision from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Thirteen companies have filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF:
- Grayscale Bitcoin Trust
- Ark/21Shares Bitcoin Trust
- Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust
- BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Trust
- VanEck Bitcoin Trust
- WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust
- Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund
- Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF
- Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust
- Global X Bitcoin Trust
- Hashdex Bitcoin ETF
- Franklin Templeton Digital Trust
- Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust
Multiple issuers said that they expect to receive final approval (or disapproval) of S-1 filings by late Tuesday or Wednesday. Simply put, an S-1 filing is a filing to register a new security with the SEC.
CNBC Reports
The big news of the day though, is that CNBC is reporting that the Bitcoin spot ETFs could be approved by Wednesday. So that will be on the 10th of January, and trading could happen this week.
Competition Around Bitcoin Spot ETF Fees
Now, what’s fascinating is that the competition around fees has been heating up. And look, competition is great for the consumer, so this is good.
Everyone is trying to come out the door with a big bang, right? They know the competition is going to heat up here. There is going to be big marketing around this product and they can always start off with low fees and then increase those fees over time.
The fact that they are doing this, they are having this game theory playing out here, this competition for these fees shows that. I think they are confident that the approvals are around the corner, even if Gary Gensler might decide to delay this for another week or two.
Read: What You Need To Know About Bitcoin Spot ETF Fees — Is It Worth It?
Standard Chartered Bank Prediction
Standard Chartered Bank put out a prediction, saying that Bitcoin spot ETFs may bring in $50 billion to $100 billion of inflows this 2024.
It’s to be seen. I personally do not know how much capital is going to come in. I believe capital will come in over time. One of the things you do not want to fall into or traps you do not want to fall into, is that as soon as it is approved, that means $500 billion is coming into the market the next day — it does not happen that way.
There will be a crawl-walk-run process. So please keep that in mind. The media will try to hype it up as though next month you are going to see a billion dollars. It is going to take time — the marketing is going to start, and they still have to educate the wealth managers and registered investment advisors.
Read: Standard Chartered Announces Blockchain Unit For Asset Tokenization
Banks And Wall Street Will Participate In Bitcoin ETFs
We are also getting recent reports that JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are in talks with Grayscale about the Bitcoin ETF role.
Other reports including BlackRock and Valkyrie are named Authorized Participants (AP), including JPMorgan, for the Bitcoin ETF. And just a month ago, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon was sitting with US Senator Elizabeth Warren in front of Congress saying this is all for scammers, fraudsters and criminals.
Read: JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon: Governments Should Shut Down Bitcoin & Crypto – Details
Gary Gensler’s Twitter Thread
Gary Gensler recently did something interesting. He usually puts out his propaganda around crypto, but some people are calling out that this time around, he did not say “crypto asset securities” — he said “crypto asset investments.” A very interesting change of tone.
So, the fact that he is naming it this way, is a very bullish sign, and he is losing. He knows that just going around saying “crypto asset securities” is actually prejudging the market.
Read: US SEC Coins New Term For Digital Assets In Its Recent Investor Alert Letter – Details
Final Thoughts
We are supposed to get an answer as early as today from January 8th to January 10th, but one thing that I want to remind you is that just because these are big players like BlackRock, Bitwise, Fidelity and everybody else, does not mean it is going to get approved. I personally think we have a strong chance of it getting approved. But at the same time, so many people are getting absolutely wrecked by shorting the market right now.
But anything is possible. Gary Gensler could pull out some sort of delay tactic. Who knows what he would come up with. Is that highly probable though? I do not think so. I think the approvals will happen, but you never know. So just be prepared is what I am saying.