A Bitcoin ETF? Enter when the SEC delays the approval window

Bitcoin hopefuls eagerly await the approval of the BTC ETF– but it looks like they'll have to wait a little longer.

Bitcoin price last week passed $37,000 – Touching an 18-month high, the news broke that the US Securities and Exchange Commission has an eight-day window to approve product applications to be traded everywhere on crypto exchanges. Investors interpreted the news as bullish, thinking the place Bitcoin ETF might soon be.

But that window is now closed. And the long-awaited crypto car has not yet fallen. Instead, the SEC will review pending applications, as it has done several times in the past, and will now review them again in the new year.

The SEC has today delayed approval of the Bitcoin ETF from Global X, which had an initial deadline of November 21. Earlier this week, the commission delayed Hashdex's application for its own Bitcoin ETF.

Wall Street's biggest regulator is a A bunch of apps from several traditional financial titans — including BlackRock, VanEck and WisdomTree — for Bitcoin ETFs. The investment vehicle, if ever adopted, would allow buyers to gain exposure to BTC without having to purchase and store the crypto asset themselves.

Market observers believed that such a product would open the floodgates from Wall Street, which would allow more capital to enter the crypto markets. Blockchain data analysts at CryptoQuant believe it could bring a $1 trillion boost to Bitcoin and other digital assets.

The first Bitcoin ETF application was filed 10 years ago, but the SEC has been reluctant to approve one, largely citing market manipulation as the strongest risk factor.

But then The world's largest asset manager, BlackRock, entered the discussion, and forecasts have since changed. BlackRock rocked the crypto world when it filed for a Bitcoin ETF in June, and analysts now believe the market is closer than ever to finally getting a Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts, there is a 90% chance someone will get it by January.

Whether that prediction holds true remains to be seen—but the odds of it being approved today are now nil.

Edited by Guillermo Jimenez

Editor's Note: This article has been updated since publication to include the SEC's delayed ruling on Franklin Templeton's application for a Bitcoin ETF.