Major cryptocurrencies surged on Wednesday evening after U.S. regulators gave the green light to Bitcoin ETFs.
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EST) |
| Bitcoin BTC/USD | +1.35% | $46,541 |
| Ethereum ETH/USD | +8.22% | $2,570 |
| Dogecoin DOGE/USD | +4.74% | $0.084 |
What Happened: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval of crucial filings from the markets aiming to list these products, which are set to commence trading on Thursday.
Bitcoin’s price surged past $47,500 after the announcement, leading to a rally in other altcoins too.
Around twelve prominent companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, have applied to establish BTC ETFs. These ETFs are spot-based, meaning they hold actual bitcoin, as opposed to the previously approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which are tied to BTC derivatives contracts.
The SEC’s approval comes after years of setbacks and rejections for spot Bitcoin ETF launches. It also follows a significant court ruling in August, where the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals deemed the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s proposal to convert its approximately $26 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF as “arbitrary and capricious.”
In a statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler referred to a court loss in 2023 as a factor in approving the dozen or so filings on Wednesday.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Commission failed to adequately explain its reasoning in disapproving the listing and trading of Grayscale's proposed ETP (the Grayscale Order). The court therefore vacated the Grayscale Order and remanded the matter to the Commission. Based on these circumstances and those discussed more fully in the approval order, I feel the most sustainable path forward is to approve the listing and trading of these spot bitcoin ETP shares,” he said.
Top Gainer (24 Hour)
| Cryptocurrency | Gains +/- | Price (Recorded 9:30 p.m. EDT) |
| Ethereum Classic ETC/USD | +27.18% | $27.19 |
| Arbitrum ARB/USD | +23.07% | $2.33 |
| Rocket Pool RPL/USD | +17.24% | $36.37 |
The global cryptocurrency market cap now stands at $1.70 trillion, showing a 0.57% decrease in the past 24 hours.
Stocks closed higher on Wednesday, as investors eagerly anticipated the release of fresh U.S. inflation data and earnings. The S&P 500 saw a 0.57% gain, closing at 4,783.45, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average added 170.57 points, or 0.45%, ending the day at 37,695.73. The Nasdaq Composite advanced by 0.75% to settle at 14,969.65.
Investors are eagerly awaiting the latest consumer price index report scheduled for release on Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones anticipate a 3.2% year-over-year rise in the CPI for December. Furthermore, the producer price index is due to be released on Friday.
See More: Best Cryptocurrency Scanners
Analyst Notes: Cryptocurrency analyst Michael Van de Poppe on the Bitcoin ETF approval said, "The bull market has taken off. Time for the rest of the Crypto markets to follow suit & #Ethereum to follow to $3,000-3,500. The rotation game is taking place. "
Eli Taranto, Director at EQITrade, in a note seen by Benzinga, said, "The ETF ruling is a landmark event. Whatever happens this may reflect on cryptocurrencies, such as EQX and many other dormant bank-related tokens that were built, in essence, before their time. XRP may also see growth, as may ICP and a few others. It is a product game now. Anything that is about interconnectivity and infrastructure. BTC will see new highs, perhaps in the 100K range, but gradually."
https://twitter.com/CryptoMichNL/status/1744837004519522401
According to a pseudonymous trader known as CrediBULL Crypto, “Ethereum is outperforming as anticipated and is nearly halfway to my projected upside relief target. "Will see how things look when we hit the RED zone which is where I think $BTC begins to kick into gear and outperform again. "
Santiment, an on-chain analytics firm, said " In a highly anticipated result, 11 separate firms received approval on their Bitcoin ETF proposals by the SEC. With this news, Bitcoin has ticked up slightly… but just like on yesterday’s fake announcement, it is once again the altcoin market surging. Ideally,"
Photo by Vladimka production on Shutterstock
Read Next: Jim Cramer Advises Against Using Binance, Provokes Strong Reactions From Twitter Users
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Comments
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.
