The impact of the spot Bitcoin ETF approval in the United States is expected to be felt in the coming months as more fund managers compete for the limited supply of Bitcoins amid the upcoming halving event.
In a historical twist, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved the listing and trading of 11 spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs on Wednesday, January 10. The approval of the spot Bitcoin ETFs narrowly avoided rejection with the support from SEC Gary Gensler. Moreover, the other two Democratic-affiliated commissioners – Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizárraga – voted against the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. Consequently, the Bitcoin price briefly rallied above $47.7k in the past 24 hours but has since retracted to trade around $45.7k during the early Asian session on Thursday.
Nonetheless, Bitcoin‘s bullish sentiment has significantly increased, putting in mind the fourth halving event about 100 days from happening. Moreover, there are more deep-pocketed investors seeking to purchase Bitcoins led by El Salvador, BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK), and Grayscale Investments, among many others. Notably, fund managers have already begun fighting for clients through spot Bitcoin ETF sponsor fee wars.
“Looking forward, it would make sense to see BTC eventually resume rallying higher as supply becomes more scarce while these 11 ETFs begin to gobble up significant amounts of supply,” Bartosz Lipiński, CEO of crypto trading platform Cube.Exchange, noted.
Ethereum Surges on Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval
Following the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, more investors are now focused on Ethereum (ETH). According to on-chain data, crypto whales have been doubling down their investments in Ether in the past few days. Consequently, Ethereum’s price has gained more than 16 percent in the past five days to trade around $2,600 on Thursday, during the early Asian session. Notably, Ethereum’s daily average trading volume has spiked more than 80 percent in the past 24 hours to about $45 billion.
“With bitcoin potentially becoming harder to buy, it would also make sense that other coins begin to fill the void left behind,” Lipiński added.
The notable Ether price surge is largely fueled by the fact that several fund managers led by BlackRock have already filed for spot ETH ETF with the US SEC. With the US SEC having already approved the Ether futures ETP, the agency will likely approve spot ETH ETF soon.
New deadline to obsess over just dropped
May 23rd is the final deadline for decision on VanEck’s spot ETH ETF pic.twitter.com/dgi5EVbPeQ
— Will (@WClementeIII) January 10, 2024
Crypto-related Stocks Rally in Tandem
The approval of spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States has given confidence in crypto-related stocks. For instance, Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) stocks gained nearly 5 percent in Wednesday’s after-hours trading session to trade around $158.75. Similarly, stocks related to Bitcoin mining companies rallied led by Marathon Digital Holdings Inc (NASDAQ: MARA). Meanwhile, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC) gained about 4 percent in the past 24 hours to trade around $40.50 on Thursday.
