All posts tagged: bitcoin etf

US SEC to Approve Ethereum ETF in May, Standard Chartered Predicts

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The US Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to allow exchange-traded funds to hold the cryptocurrency Ethereum in May, Standard Chartered predicts. May 23 is the last date by which the agency must consider ETF applications from VanEck and Ark 21Shares, the bank said in a research report Tuesday. The asset managers will be the first to come up against the final deadline. Standard Chartered expects the SEC to rule on the applications on the final date, as it did on January 10, when it approved 10 Bitcoin ETFs. Ethereum has key similarities to Bitcoin’s legal and financial status that suggests it will follow a similar approval pattern, according to Geoff Kendrick, the head of FX Research, West, and Digital Assets Research at Standard Chartered. Last June, the SEC left Bitcoin and Ether off a list of 67 tokens it considered to be securities. In addition, Ether — like Bitcoin — also has futures traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange — a key surveillance tool. At about $285 billion (roughly Rs. 23,66,701 crore), Ether is …

US Bitcoin ETFs See $4.6 Billion in Volume in First Day of Trading, Grayscale and BlackRock Dominate

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US-listed bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) saw $4.6 billion worth of shares trade hands as of Thursday afternoon, according to LSEG data, as investors jumped into the landmark products approved by the US securities regulator on Wednesday. The products mark a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry that will test whether digital assets – still viewed by many professionals as risky – can gain broader acceptance as an investment. Eleven spot bitcoin ETFs – including BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, among others – began trading Thursday morning, kicking off a fierce competition for market share. Grayscale, BlackRock and Fidelity dominated trading volumes, the LSEG data showed. “Trading volumes have been relatively strong for new ETF products,” said Todd Rosenbluth, strategist at VettaFi. “But this is a longer race than just a single day’s trading. The green light from the US Securities and Exchange Commission for the products finally came late on Wednesday, following a decade-long tussle with the crypto industry. Some executives called out bitcoin as a high-risk investment, …

Cryptocurrencies Pose Risks to Emerging Markets, Central Bank’s Stand Remains Unchanged: RBI Governor

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Cryptocurrencies can pose significant risks to emerging markets, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) chief said on Thursday, cautioning that the central bank’s stand on the issue remains unchanged despite wider acceptance in other countries. “Our position, my position and the RBI’s position on this (cryptocurrencies) remains unchanged irrespective of who does what,” Shaktikanta Das said in response to a question about the US securities regulator approving the first US-listed exchange traded funds to track Bitcoin, a move that could bolster the world’s largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry. “For emerging market economies and for advanced economies also, travelling down that path will create huge risks which will be very difficult to contain going forward,” Das added. Cryptocurrencies have no underlying value and pose risks for macroeconomic and financial stability, the central bank chief has repeatedly said. RBI Governor Das highlighted the benefits of the central bank digital currencies, or e-rupee in India’s case, and said the central bank is working on “programmability” of the e-rupee to enable cash transfers, such as targeted transfers …

US securities regulator approves bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market

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The U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday approved the first U.S-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin, its Chair Gary Gensler said, in a watershed for the world’s largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry. Physical representations of the bitcoin cryptocurrency are seen in this illustration taken October 24, 2023.(Reuters) The agency approved applications, including from BlackRock, Ark Investments and 21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco, and VanEck, among others, according to a notice on its website. Some products are expected to begin trading as early as Thursday. Wrap up the year gone by & gear up for 2024 with HT! Click here The products – a decade in the making – would be a game-changer for bitcoin, offering institutional and retail investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without directly holding it, and a major boost for a crypto industry beset by a string of scandals. Standard Chartered analysts this week said the ETFs could draw $50 billion to $100 billion this year alone, driving the price of bitcoin as high as $100,000. Other analysts have said …

Crypto Market Eyes Interest Rates, Expected Bitcoin ETFs in 2024 After Recovery

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After ending 2023 on a high, crypto investors will be watching central bank interest rates and a US regulatory decision on new bitcoin products as they decide how to place their bets next year. Cryptocurrencies staged a recovery this year after a torrid 2022 in which a market meltdown and a string of scandals, including the collapse of FTX and fraud charges against its CEO, Sam Bankman-Fried, undermined the credibility of the industry. The price of bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency and the market’s chief barometer, has more than doubled this year, reaching a 20-month high in November of $42,000 (about Rs. 35 lakh) per token. As of Friday, 2023 was its best year since 2020 in terms of percentage gains. The market has been buoyed by expectations that cooling inflation will allow central banks globally to forgo further rate hikes and start easing next year, making risk assets more attractive. A long-anticipated move by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has also been a boost. Those themes, …