The American market watchdog has authorized the listing of eleven funds indexed to Bitcoin, the most famous of cryptocurrencies. A long-awaited recognition, but which does not prevent criticism from the authorities on this asset class. An entry into Wall Street that is causing debate.
This is a historic announcement. The American stock market watchdog, the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission), has given the green light to 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs. Since yesterday, these ETFs began to be listed on Wall Street.
According to a recent tweet from Bloomberg Intelligence, Blackrock, which received SEC approval for its spot bitcoin ETF, could “break first-day flow record with possible $2 billion first-day asset infusion trading for its spot bitcoin ETF”. In total, Bloomberg is counting on $4 billion in flows on the first day with the various spot bitcoin ETFs and $50 billion in assets within two years. The bank Standard Chartered is much more optimistic: the arrival of spot Bitcoin ETFs could generate flows into bitcoin worth $50 billion to $100 billion in 2024. Some analysts, on the other hand, only expect “a few hundred million dollars” of buyer flow.
In the United States, these products now also allow as many people as possible to invest in bitcoin, instead of going through cryptocurrency exchange platforms. This democratization could change the discourse of part of the financial world offering these products, by highlighting the advantages of bitcoin as an investment product. A change in mentality towards bitcoin could thus take place. Furthermore, while the SEC had refused the introduction of spot bitcoin ETFs since 2013, the introduction of these first financial products could convince other players to get involved. Driven by this favorable context, the crypto company Circle, which issues the USDC stablecoin, confirmed this Thursday its desire to list on the stock market in the United States, by filing a request with the SEC. If the cryptocurrency market will begin to become institutionalized with bitcoin, the SEC remains on guard.
Also read: Start of 2024: Bitcoin exceeds the $45,000 mark