A 10-year journey ends with a historic victory for crypt

Ten years after the first application, the crypto industry finally saw the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approve the first regulatory space Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.

The adoption of the Bitcoin ETF was a historic event for crypto, but the road was not smooth. It all started on July 1, 2013, when Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss submitted the first application for a Bitcoin ETF in the United States, but despite the efforts of the twins and going back and forth with the SEC, the agency finally rejected the application in 2017. The decision has led financial and media experts to declare that Bitcoin is not ready for the mainstream.

That same year, the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) was launched as an open-ended, private trust for accredited investors, and in 2015 it received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to trade publicly. While this was not an ETF, it eventually became the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund in the US and eventually evolved into a spot-based ETF.

Following the SEC's rejection, the Winklevoss twins led a second effort to get a Bitcoin ETF approved, only to be rejected again by the SEC in 2018 after the agency deemed Bitcoin's largely unregulated nature.

For years, many wondered if there could ever be a justification for a Bitcoin space ETF, until Canada one day took the lead. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, Fidelity Canada launched a Bitcoin ETF position in 2021, making them the largest asset manager of Bitcoin ETFs at the time.

Semi-Shock: Fidelity Launches Bitcoin ETF Position in Canada This Week I did not know about this. It will be the biggest asset manager ever with bitcoin ETF. pic.twitter.com/H2XJRBY3O6

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 30, 2021

In the year In 2022, the SEC rejected additional applications from asset managers SkyBridge, Fidelity, Bitwise and Grayscale for spot Bitcoin ETFs. In response, Greyscale Investments filed suit against the SEC after its application to convert GBTC into a spot-based ETF was denied.

Related: Spot Bitcoin ETF Could Bring $30 Trillion to Market – Grayscale CEO

In the year In 2023, asset managers BlackRock and ARK Invest have joined the race for a spot in a Bitcoin ETF, further fueling hopes that the new Bitcoin investment vehicle will finally be approved. In the year On August 29, 2023, Grayscale scored a victory when US Court of Appeals Judge Naomi Rao ordered the SEC to review Greyscale's petition. While an eventual Greyscale spot Bitcoin ETF listing is not guaranteed, the ruling has given the community hope that a spot Bitcoin ETF is on the way.

In December 2023, several discussions took place between the SEC and spot ETF applicants. In the year By early January 2024, ETF issuers will complete the required Bitcoin ETF applications for their positions and await the SEC's response.

On January 9, the official X (Twitter) account of the SEC published a post stating that the Commission has approved BTC ETF applications. However, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler immediately denied the announcement saying the SEC's X account was compromised and explained that the SEC has not yet approved the listing and trading of ETFs.

The @SECGov Twitter account was hacked, and an unauthorized tweet was posted. The SEC has not approved the listing and marketing of spot bitcoin trading products.

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024

On January 10, the Cboe BZX exchange accepted BTC ETF offers from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, VanEck, WisdomTree and Franklin Templeton in letters filed with the SEC. While full SEC approval is still pending, Cboe's letter raised speculation that the SEC could approve multiple offerings from asset managers at once.

On the same day, the SEC finally filed 19b-4 filings with asset managers ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. This paved the way for the first regulated Bitcoin ETF product in the US. This allows investors to gain direct exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) without storing assets in crypto wallets.

On January 11, the first Bitcoin ETF started trading in the premarket with $2 million worth of shares and showed a double-digit gain on the Nasdaq exchange.

Magazine: SEC Delays Ether ETFs, Binance Settlement Approved and Another Court Loss for SBF: Hodler's Digest