Bitcoin Rebounds Above $44K as Spot BTC ETF Approval Looks Increasingly Likely

Bitcoin

(BTC)
Thursday
rebounded
to
$44,500
as
investors
shrugged
off
yesterday’s
flash
crash
and
remained
optimistic
a
U.S.
spot
BTC
exchange-traded
fund
(ETF)
approval
is
around
the
corner.

While
a
Wednesday

Matrixport
report
warning
about
a
potential
rejection
may
have
helped
trigger
a

quick
10%
tumble
in
bitcoin,
the
majority
of
observers
continue
to
expect
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC)
to
approve
applications,
possibly
as
soon
as
Friday.

Bloomberg
ETF
analyst
Eric
Balchunas

said
during
U.S.
afternoon
hours
that
the
agency
was
providing
final
comments
on
the
applications,
with
prospective
issuers
then
to
update
their
filings
accordingly.

Shortly
after,
TechCrunch
reporter
Jacquelyn
Melinek

said
that
the
SEC
will
soon
approve
multiple
applications,
citing
sources
“extremely
close
to
the
matter.”

BTC
was
up
4%
over
the
past
24
hours
and
trading
at
$44,500
at
press
time,
erasing
nearly
all
of
yesterday’s
decline
to
below
the
$41,000
level.

The
anticipation
of
spot-based
bitcoin
ETFs
that
directly
hold
the
underlying
asset
have
been
a
boon
to
the
crypto
market
since
Wall
Street
giant

BlackRock
filed
paperwork
in
June
to
list
one
in
the
U.S.
–
a
move
soon
followed
by
a
plethora
of
other
applicants.
These
vehicles
are
considered
superior
to
already
listed
futures-based
offerings
and
bulls
are
betting
they
will
attract

significant
inflows
to
the
largest
cryptocurrency.

However,
a

survey
released
Thursday
by
Bitwise
and
VettaFi
curiously
found
that
only
39%
of
financial
advisors
expected
a
spot
BTC
approval
this
year.

Perhaps
more
interestingly
though,
the
same
survey
showed
88%
of
those
advisors
see
the
spot
ETF
as
a
major
catalyst
and
would
be
interested
in
buying
bitcoin
after
approval.
Bitwise
is
among
those
asset
managers
with
spot
bitcoin
ETF
applications
awaiting
word
from
the
SEC.

Matrixport
research
head
Markus
Thielen,
author
of
yesterday’s
report
calling
for
a
potential
rejection
or
delayed
approval,
clarified
Thursday
in
a

CoinDesk
podcast
interview
that
he
ultimately
expects
the
U.S.
agency
to
allow
spot-based
ETFs,
but
bitcoin
may
fall
to
lower
prices
in
the
coming
weeks
as
technical
indicators
signal
the
uptrend
is
faltering.

Thielen
also
said
that
once
spot
BTC
ETFs
get
the
green
light,
investors
will
quickly
switch
their
focus
to
Ethereum’s
ether

(ETH),
the
second-largest
cryptocurrency,
with
a
decision
for

spot-based
ether
ETF
applications
likely
due
around
May.

“We
would
expect
then
we’re
going
to
see
some
large
outperformance
of
ETH
over
BTC,”
Thielen
predicted.