BTC price rises 5% as investor Bitcoin ETF says ‘99.9% deal done’
Bitcoin (BTC) bounced back above $43,000 on December 19 on news of the first US-listed BTC Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF).
Bitcoin ETF excitement is still simmering.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed a recovery in the price of BTC, which took the market to a local high of $43,456 after the daily close.
After an uncertain start to the week, BTC/USD quickly gathered strength, with the December 18th candle closing more than 5% above the day's low.
Later, news came that asset manager BlackRock – which was among the applicants to launch the first US spot Bitcoin ETF – had changed its policy around redemptions for the product to include BTC as an option.
BlackRock's S1 filing for U.S. securities and currencies states that “in-kind redemption of some or all of the shares of common stock in exchange for the bitcoins represented by the common shares will not be a payable event to a shareholder. Commission (SEC) states.
The document sets new rules on exchanging baskets of shares for cash instead of BTC, the latter of which will have regulatory approval.
The SEC will begin making final decisions on spot ETFs as early as January 2024, and next month has become a make-or-break point in Bitcoiners' notebooks.
As Cointelegraph reports, various BTC price predictions are hinged on a successful approval, and this is now considered highly likely after years of delays and failures.
“The level of SEC involvement and the back/forward/changes on the bitcoin ETF tells us this is a 99.9% consensus,” trader and investor Bob Lucas responded to the recent changes on X (formerly Twitter).
The SEC delayed a final decision on several Ether (ETH) ETFs this week to May.
Bitcoin Trader: $50,000 Possible Before 2024
Between now and then, however, Bitcoin will experience both annual candlestick closes and various macroeconomic data, adding to the volatility of the holiday season.
Related: ‘Natural Depression' Below $41.5K — 5 Things to Know in Bitcoin This Week
Traders continue to draw lines in the sand above and below the spot price, with a trip below $40,000 still on the cards.
In a video update on December 18, trading group CryptoEd, the creator of the cryptocurrency, predicted that the event that will play out before the final push could send BTC/USD to $50,000 before the end of 2023.
“Let's see how this develops over the course of the week,” he concluded, giving a low target of $38,000.
Renowned trader and analyst Matthew Hyland is bullish on Bitcoin's relative strength index (RSI) and price divergence on daily time frames.
#BTC confirmed this bullish divergence earlier in the daily close
It's currently over $43k pic.twitter.com/8qyCBYtMcV
— Matthew Hyland (@MatthewHyland_) December 19, 2023
Bitcoin is down from its recent 19-month high of more than $44,000, with the daily RSI at 60.45 at the time of writing.
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and business activity involves risk, and readers should do their own research when making a decision.
