Yesterday marked a historic moment in the world of cryptocurrencies as the SEC finally nodded in agreement, giving the green light to not one, not two, but eleven spot Bitcoin ETFs. The crypto world, long seen as the rebellious teenager of the financial markets, has finally been invited to the Wall Street’s fancy dinner party. And oh, what an entrance it made! The crypto industry was enthusiastic and confirmed. And rightly so!
Leading the ETF parade were some of Wall Street’s usual suspects – BlackRock, Fidelity, and VanEck, standing shoulder to shoulder with their newfound crypto comrades. The markets reacted as you would expect when Bitcoin meets Wall Street – with a bang. The inflows on the first day were record-breaking, totaling a whopping $2.5 billion. Brad Garlinghouse of Ripple couldn’t contain his excitement on social media, calling it a “catalyst for institutional investment/adoption” and a “further legitimization of crypto as an asset class.” Meanwhile, Brian Armstrong of Coinbase tipped his hat to Grayscale for their persistent efforts in court that played a significant role in making this happen.
But it wasn’t just the Bitcoin enthusiasts who were popping the champagne. Ethereum supporters were seen eyeing the SEC with hopeful puppy eyes, wondering if their beloved Ether would be the next in line to don the ETF cloak. With Ethereum’s price hitting its highest point since May 2022 following the Bitcoin ETF news, speculation is rife. However, SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s comments did throw a bit of cold water on these burning hopes, emphasizing that the approval was for Bitcoin, a “non-security commodity”, and not necessarily an open invitation for other cryptocurrencies to join the ETF bandwagon.
Then there was Michael Saylor, the former Microstrategy CEO and Bitcoin bull, who lightened the mood with his tweet joking about needing “six confirmations from the SEC before an ETF transaction is settled.” Franklin Templeton also joined in the fun, updating their profile picture with laser eyes, a nod to the Bitcoin ETF approval.
In the midst of all this, Justin Sun of Tron proclaimed that the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the US demonstrates that the trend of cryptocurrencies is “unstoppable.” He optimistically predicted that Asian and Chinese markets will soon embrace this opportunity, with Bitcoin eventually reaching the world’s eight billion people.
As the dust settles on this momentous day, one thing is clear – the world of crypto has just had a major glow-up. But as always, with great power comes great responsibility, and the crypto market, known for its wild west antics, will now have to learn to play by the rules of the old-school financial establishment. Will it be a match made in heaven or an odd couple scenario? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for the next twist in this ever-entertaining saga of cryptocurrencies meeting Wall Street.