bitcoin etf

$100K BTC? Don’t undervalue Bitcoin ETF influence, says Adam Back

Resolving recent systemic failures in the cryptocurrency ecosystem and the prospect of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals could drive Bitcoin to $100,000 in 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic, rampant inflation and regional conflicts directly influenced Bitcoin’s (BTC) drop in value over the past two years. However, 2024 promises to be a resurgent period, according to Blockstream CEO Adam Back.

The cryptographer, who pioneered the proof-of-work algorithm applied in Bitcoin’s protocol, tells Cointelegraph that the preeminent cryptocurrency is trailing below the historical price trend line of previous mining reward halving events.

Back weighed in on the potential price action of Bitcoin as the next halving approaches, which will see Bitcoin miners’ block reward reduced from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Block reward halvings are programmatically hardwired into Bitcoin’s code, taking place after every 210,000 blocks.

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BlackRock revises spot Bitcoin ETF to enable easier access for banks

BlackRock said the new ETF model offers “superior resistance to market manipulation” — something the SEC has long used as a reason to reject spot Bitcoin ETFs.

BlackRock has revised its spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) application to make it easier for Wall Street banks to participate by creating new shares in the fund with cash rather than just crypto.

The new in-kind redemption “prepay” model will allow banking giants such as JPMorgan or Goldman Sachs to act as authorized participants for the fund, letting them circumvent restrictions that prevent them from holding Bitcoin or crypto directly on their balance sheets.

The new model was presented by six members of BlackRock and three from Nasdaq in a Nov. 28 meeting with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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Google policy update allows ads for US crypto trusts

Google will allow ads for U.S. based-crypto trusts from January, with the change seemingly coming in the same month that spot Bitcoin ETFs are predicted to be approved.

Tech giant Google has updated its cryptocurrency-related advertising policy to allow ads about crypto trusts from the end of January, the same month that spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) are predicted to be approved in the United States.

In a Dec. 6 policy change log, Google said its crypto and related products ad policy will be updated on Jan. 29, 2024, to allow ads from “advertisers offering Cryptocurrency Coin Trust targeting the United States.”

Cryptocurrency coin trusts were given as examples of “financial products that allow investors to trade shares in trusts holding large pools of digital currency” — likely including ETFs.

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Investment firm floats yield-bearing ETF based on MicroStrategy stock

Investment firm YieldMax has applied to launch an ETF allowing investors to earn monthly yields on MicroStrategy shares.

A specialized exchange-traded fund (ETF) firm, YieldMax, has filed to launch the first yield-bearing ETF product based on shares in Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin holding company, MicroStrategy.

According to a Dec. 7 filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), YieldMax has officially applied to launch its Option Income Strategy ETF based on shares in MicroStrategy, slated for release sometime in 2024.

If approved by the SEC, the ETF will trade under the ticker “MSTY” — just one letter off MicroStrategy’s preexisting ticker “MSTR.”

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Bitcoin halving, BTC ETF hype driving price up into 2024 — NBX Berlin

Several macro events are contributing to increased interest in Bitcoin, its price and a knock-on effect on the wider markets.

The potential approval of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), the looming BTC mining reward halving and major regulatory and enforcement actions have a profound psychological effect on market prices. 

This is a key takeaway from the Next Block Expo conference in Berlin, just as Bitcoin tipped past $42,000 for the first time in over a year.

Animoca Brands CEO Robby Yung, gumi Cryptos Capital managing partner Miko Matsumura, Binance regional manager Jonas Jünger, and Polkastarter business development lead João Leite weighed in on whether the current cryptocurrency bear market was coming to an end in a conversation with Cointelegraph.

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Hashdex tips spot Bitcoin ETFs to trade by Q2, followed by Ethereum

Hashdex’s head of product for the U.S. and Europe says the exact timing for a spot Bitcoin ETF is unclear but predicts it to start by the second quarter of 2024.

Hashdex, one of the 13 asset managers vying for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, expects to see the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States land by the second quarter of 2024, followed by a spot Ether (ETH) ETF.

“The exact timing of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. remains unclear, but in 2023, the narrative around this product switched from a question of ‘if’ to a matter of ‘when,’” said Hashdex’s U.S.

“We believe U.S. investors will have access to a spot Bitcoin ETF by the second quarter of the new year and that a spot Ether ETF is likely to follow.”

Hashdex is one of 13 asset managers with a spot Bitcoin ETF application before the U.S. It has also pitched a hybrid Ether ETF with futures and spot contracts to the regulator.

While Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas have pinned 90% odds that spot Bitcoin ETFs will be approved in the days leading up to Jan.

Seyffart noted in November that “there could be weeks or even months between approval and launch.”

Bitcoin's top of funnel is becoming less noisy, suggests Swan Bitcoin CEO

According to Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten, Bitcoin ETFs are set to replace the chaotic entry points tainted by flashy crypto marketing campaigns.

Swan Bitcoin CEO Cory Klippsten has suggested that spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETF) will suppress the loud and flashy marketing strategies that have served as the initial gateway for many into the crypto space since 2017.

During a recent interview with Bloomberg on December 1, Klippsten reiterated that Bitcoin ETFs offer an alternative entry into the market at a time when it has been tainted by well-funded crypto marketing schemes:

“The past six years from 2017 through 2023, the top of the funnel for people looking to get into Bitcoin has been extremely noisy, polluted by all of the crypto marketing schemes funded by $50 billion of venture capital, trying to essentially market and dump crypto tokens.”

Cory Klippsten speaking on Bloomberg Radio. Source: Bloomberg

He went on to clarify that an ETF functions similarly to an IOU for the product, differentiating it from a futures-based alternative.

“I think it’s a great top of funnel for people to get into Bitcoin and then if they want to go a little deeper and explore it, and hold more,” he stated.

Moreover, aligning with the views of fellow crypto analysts who posit a “clear runway” for Bitcoin ETF approval in January, Klippsten expressed a similar optimism.

“That window seems to have been narrowed to January 8th, 9th, or 10th.

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Court to hear oral arguments in Grayscale’s lawsuit against the SEC in March

Grayscale had expected it wouldn’t be able to voice arguments until the second quarter, and is calling the quicker timeline “welcome news.”

A United States appeals court is set to hear the oral arguments relating to Grayscale Investment’s lawsuit against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its decision to deny Grayscale’s Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

According to a court motion filed on Jan. 23, both sides will present their arguments at the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on March 7, at 9:30 am local time.

Oral arguments are spoken presentations delivered by attorneys summarizing why their clients should win the case. Each party in the case takes turns directly speaking and answering questions from the judge and is given equal amounts of time to do so.

In a tweet on Jan. 24, Grayscale Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm said the newly filed motion was “welcome news” as they were previously anticipating oral arguments to be scheduled “as soon as Q2.”

The composition of the argument panel in the Grayscale case will be revealed on Feb. 6, 30 days prior to the date of the oral argument, while the amount of time for the argument will be set in a separate order, according to the motion.

Grayscale updates its appeals timeline with the date for the Oral Arguments motion Source: Grayscale

Grayscale initiated its lawsuit against the SEC in June after the regulator rejected its application to convert its $12 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot-based ETF.

Earlier this month, Grayscale filed a reply brief with the D.C. Court of Appeals, claiming the SEC acted arbitrarily in treating spot-traded ETFs differently from futures-traded products and that the SEC exceeded its authority when it denied Grayscale’s application for a Bitcoin ETF.

Related: SEC’s ‘one-dimensional’ approach is slowing Bitcoin progress: Grayscale CEO

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein reiterated a similar point during an interview on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Jan. 24, stating:

“It’s important to remind the role that regulators like the SEC play when it comes to investors. They’re not here to tell investors what to or what not to invest in. They’re here to ensure all the proper disclosures are made […] so [investors] are aware of all the risks associated.”

Sonnenshein said they were “certainly expecting” a decision from the courts regarding its case against the SEC in “Q2 or Q3 of this year.”

“The frustrating thing for investors and certainly the Grayscale team is that we’re actually a business that was born in the U.S., made use of existing U.S. regulatory frameworks to bring crypto to investors in a safe and compliant way.”

“Meeting with both houses yesterday and today, what we’re really hearing […] is that had the SEC already approved this spot-Bitcoin ETF […] a lot of the recent investor harm we’ve seen in crypto would’ve been prevented,” he added.

SEC approves 9 more WisdomTree ‘blockchain-enabled’ funds

After announcing the approval of nine new digital funds, WisdomTree reiterated that it wants to further integrate blockchain tech to improve the investor experience.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to nine more blockchain-enabled funds from $82 billion asset manager WisdomTree.

None of these funds track crypto assets themselves, but the firm does utilize the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains to keep a secondary record of share ownership, thus making them blockchain-enabled or “digital funds” as WidsomTree describes them.

The firm announced the SEC’s approval on Dec. 14, and outlined that the nine digital funds offer exposure to a host of different asset classes such as equities, commodities and floating rate treasuries. The funds are expected to launch via the WisdomTree Prime mobile app in the first quarter of 2023.

“We believe that blockchain-enabled finance has the potential to improve the investor experience through enhanced liquidity, transparency and standardization, which we aim to achieve over time,” said Will Peck, WisdomTree’s head of digital assets.

The latest SEC approval comes three months after it approved the firm’s first digital fund, the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX).

In a Sept. 26 blog post, Peck emphasized that WisdomTree is looking at creating a greater investor experience via digital funds and blockchain tech, particularly in relation to trading and transaction settlements.

“To give a few examples […] it’s remarkable that some blockchains can provide near-instant settlement finality on a peer-to-peer basis on a 24/7/365 basis. Blockchains can allow for atomic settlement (where software ensures assets are exchanged in settlement) as opposed to other potentially riskier settlement processes, like delivery vs. payment (DvP),” he wrote.

As of Dec. 14, WisdomTree claims to have roughly $82 billion worth of assets under management across its U.S. and Europe listed funds.

Related: SEC looks to intercept Grayscale Bitcoin ETF review bid

Like Grayscale Investments, the firm has also been pushing to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC) since early 2021.

However the SEC has rejected WidsomTree’s applications on multiple occasions, citing general concerns over fraud and market manipulation on BTC trading markets.

To date, the SEC is still yet to approve a spot BTC ETF.

The firm, however, offers various products tracking the altcoin market and in March also launched three crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) backed by Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT).

Still waiting: SEC delays VanEck’s third Bitcoin spot ETF application

The wait for a first Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund continues as the U.S. SEC buys more time to make a decision on VanEck’s proposed BTC ETF.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed back a decision on the latest application for a Bitcoin (BTC) spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) by global investment firm VanEck.

The company has long been trying to get the green light for what will be the first BTC ETF in America, with its first application lodged with the SEC dating back to 2017, which was eventually denied.

VanEck saw a second application ruled out in November 2021 by the SEC, reasoning that the firm had not met thestandards to protect investors as well as prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.

VanEck persevered with a third application for a BTC ETF offering in June 2022 filed with the SEC, highlighting a number of reasons why the SEC should reconsider its previous decisions.

Related: Bitcoin ETFs: A beginner’s guide to exchange-traded funds

VanEck’s primary argument was that American funds were gaining exposure to Bitcoin through BTC spot exchange-traded products offered in Canada. America’s northern neighbor approved a spot Bitcoin ETF in February 2021, becoming one of the first countries around the world to do so.

The deadline for approval of the latest filing with the SEC was set to expire on Aug. 27, leading the regulator to postpone its decision on the matter by almost two months.

The SEC has given itself until Oct. 11 to make a ruling and noted that it had not received any comments on the proposed rule change after calling for public consultation in July 2022:

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”

The push for an American spot Bitcoin ETF has been a talking point since 2017, which would essentially allow institutional investors to buy shares representing Bitcoin that would be held by VanEck. This gives investors exposure to Bitcoin without having to physically own and store the cryptocurrency. VanEck intends to list its BTC ETF product on the Cboe BZX Exchange.