SEC approves rule changes that pave the way for bitcoin ETFs

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved rule changes to allow the creation of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S., a long-awaited move that will give regular investors access to the controversial and volatile cryptocurrency.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday approved rule changes to allow the creation of bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the U.S., a long-awaited move that will give regular investors access to the controversial and volatile cryptocurrency.

The decision will likely lead to the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, which holds about $29 billion of the cryptocurrency, into an ETF, as well as the launch of competing funds from mainstream issuers such as BlackRock’s iShares and Fidelity. The first funds are poised to begin trading Thursday.

The approval may prove to be a landmark event in the adoption of cryptocurrency by mainstream finance, as the ETF structure gives institutions and financial advisors a familiar and regulated way to buy exposure to bitcoin.

“We think that the SEC approval, should we and others get it, is a green light for institutions. We’ve been talking to quite a few of them, and they’re much more interested now that the SEC effectively is paving the way,” Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said on CNBC’s “Halftime Report” on Monday. Ark Invest has partnered with 21Shares on a proposed bitcoin fund.

The decision comes after an official SEC social media account on Tuesday falsely said that bitcoin ETFs had been approved. The SEC said the account had been compromised.

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/crypto/sec-approves-rule-changes-pave-way-bitcoin-etfs-rcna133362

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