WASHINGTON–The cryptocurrency industry has marked a major landmark with federal approval of a new exchange traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of Bitcoin.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has authorized 11 applications for companies to ETFs tied to Bitcoin, which analysts believe will create a potentially simpler way for people to invest in digital assets.
Among the companies receiving SEC approval were some of the world’s largest financial firms, including BlackRock and Fidelity. The ETFs are expected to trade on traditional platforms like the Nasdaq, according to the New York Times.
‘Hailed as a Sign’
“The approvals were hailed as a sign that mainstream financial institutions remain willing to deal in digital currencies even after 18 months of market crashes and high-profile bankruptcies,” the Times reported in its analysis. “Since the fall, Bitcoin’s price has surged more than 60%, as traders bet that approval of the new crypto products would give the industry an imprimatur of regulatory legitimacy, drawing fresh investment from professional wealth managers and amateur traders…The long-awaited authorizations bring a pillar of the mainstream finance system into the experimental world of digital money.”
The report noted crypto proponents had pushed for the introduction of a Bitcoin E.T.F. for years, hoping it would accelerate adoption of cryptocurrencies more broadly.
Bitcoin Rises to a High
“In 2021, the S.E.C. approved funds that track the fluctuations of Bitcoin without holding the currency itself,” the Times reminded.
Bitcoin’s price has skyrocketed so far this year and reached nearly $47,000, its highest value since 2022.
The Best Way to Start a New Year. With Something Free.
The biggest, best and freshest news reporting in credit unions remains free! Each morning CUToday.info delivers its daily Fresh Today news update offering the latest headlines and breaking news right to your email, with the easy-to-read headlines format allowing you to click on the stories that interest you most in order to learn more. So stop paying those bank-fee-like subscription prices from other so-called “news” publications!
If you haven’t yet signed up for the new email solution on which CUToday.info has partnered with ResponseGenius, you can do so here. Signing up requires less than one minute of your time—and it’s free!
Please note that after signing up you may need to go to your Spam/Junk folder and mark the morning headlines email as safe. CUToday.info does not provide its list of readers and emails to outside parties, and we will not be contacting you to sell you an extended warranty or sending you any links so you may cash in on an inheritance you didn’t know was coming.
And did we mention it’s free?