It is increasingly evident that approval for the first Bitcoin ETF remains a matter of “when” and not “if.”
The long wait that’s been keeping investors on the edge of their seats might finally be over, as more reps in the crypto space hint at January 5-10 being the timeframe for the development’s authorization from the SEC.
The massive frenzy that the emergence of encrypted money generated and the increasingly significant numbers of interested parties looking to learn how to buy Bitcoin have caused other well-implemented and renowned financial institutions to create investment tools that would respond to different needed means of investment.
Now, Galaxy, Invesco, BlackRock, Grayscale, Fidelity, and other entities are awaiting the SEC’s decision as the calendar winds down, signaling potentially positive developments for them and for prospective investors looking to alleviate some of the usual responsibilities associated with traditional investment methods.
The Waiting Might Be Soon Over In The US
As the US-based spot BTC ETF seems inevitable, the invested parties place bets on the announcement date.
A significant chunk of the community points to January 10 as the final date possible that could witness the official decision of the SEC in this regard, with entities like Bloomberg Intelligence, a global analyst on all-economic global factors, attesting to this feasible scenario.
According to the data analyst, consecutive launches of these investment tools might appear in the first month of the year, with estimations pointing at 10. Such developments inherently impact Bitcoin’s price, especially as the US holds around 60% of the worldwide equity market value.
Europe and Canada have already approved and launched spot BTC ETFs, with the first listed on Euronext Amsterdam.
This initiative’s emergence took two years, and now, US financial players like Fidelity and Hashdex are also being kept on hold until the final decision.
How the First BTC ETF Could Trigger a Price Readjustment – a Comparison With Gold
Inevitably, many suppositions and speculations have arisen ever since the hypothetical notion of the first US-based Bitcoin ETF broke into the news. Many more financial buffs draw on the comparison of Bitcoin with the most widespread rare metal, gold, to fortify their assumptions.
It’s helpful to look at the case of the first gold commodity ETF in the US, the SPDR Gold Shares (GLD), to strengthen the foundation for presumptions.
Before the launch of the GLD and IAU (the first gold-backed iShares Gold Trust), investors could only physically invest in physical bullion, also known as coins, bars, or metal ingots.
Yet, the approval and consequent launch of the GLD offered such a heightened exposure to the precious metal and made it so available to a greater investor audience that the price of gold grew by almost 360%.
Associating this astronomical growth with the potential that Bitcoin might have to explode, it’s clear why many pundits place bets on BTC’s price spinning between $50,000 and $73,000 after the first ETF’s release.
Gold was rarely profitable enough to buy, move, and store, and the futures market didn’t make it easy for aspiring investors.
Similarly, there are blockages and barriers to be raised for Bitcoin to become more accessible for any interested investor, bringing it closer to their wallet literally and boosting the asset’s mainstreamness and demand.
Higher demand naturally leads to increased selling prices, which is all the more profitable for investors as the supply cannot exceed a pre-established amount of 21 Million BTCs.
What About Ethereum?
Like Bitcoin, Ethereum pundits are awaiting a spot ETF on this asset. Bitcoin’s ETF could be launched as late as March of the year, and the final date for Ethereum’s ETF is widely expected to be in May.
A spot Ethereum ETF could be approved the following year, and even if the asset isn’t considered a commodity like its counterpart, the initiative’s realization might consequently boost its price and drive demand for the cryptocurrency sector.
Bitcoin to keep Ruling as a Digital Store of Value after the ETF Approval
For many crypto pundits, the instance of another digital store of value rooted in the internet leapfrogging the harbingering one is unfeasible.
The CEO of VanEck, a leading investment managing company, told reps of Cointelegraph that he’s confident in Bitcoin’s outperforming other assets and unbeatable place among the top digital coins, suggesting that it’s finding itself in a “bubble” where it outstrips itself every market cycle.
The CEO has also submitted a request to develop a spot BTC ETF in the US, bringing amendments in October of the year and belonging to the 13 entities doing so. According to him, the applications should all be approved on the same day.
Furthermore, he suggested anticipating new ATHs witnessed across the following twelve months. As long-term projections, the VanEck CEO expects BTC to transform into an accompaniment to gold, joining the group of those seeing the perfect candidate in the primary crypto.
Comparisons have long been drawn between the two stores of value, and enthusiasm for Bitcoin has arisen.
Advocates like George Tung, a market analyst at TheStreet, suggest that its increased ease of transportation, safeguarding, and payment utilization could catapult it above the rare metal’s place.
Summing Up
Bitcoin, the asset often compared to gold for its native properties boosting its appropriateness as a store of value, stands out through its scarcity.
The last Bitcoin to be mined is expected to arise in 2140, seeing a limited supply establish the asset’s price as its demand grows. Just as gold gained widespread popularity following the introduction of the first GLD to the market, Bitcoin could experience a similar surge in its price.
All these already-enumerated aspects, suppositions, expectations and historically-proven facts for other assets that saw ETFs go live make a bullish case for the primary crypto coin.
As the world awaits the SEC’s final decision, those who have previously invested in Bitcoin or are on the edge of doing so might only have reasons to rejoice later down the road.
