– Prominent Wall Street firms are applying to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), indicating increasing acceptance of cryptocurrencies among traditional financial institutions.
– Data from finance research platform ByteTree shows that the number of BTC held by funds has significantly increased since the first spot Bitcoin ETF filing by BlackRock on June 15.
– Bitcoin fund holdings have risen to nearly 850,000 BTC, marking a 2.5% increase from a 3-month low on June 14.
– This surge in holdings surpasses the previous peak of over 846,000 BTC reached in February 2023.
– Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart believes that a spot Bitcoin ETF could be one of the largest launches in history, potentially leading investors to reallocate billions of dollars from other funds.
– Well-known traditional financial institutions like Wisdomtree, Invesco, VanEck, and Valkyrie have filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs.
– The US Securities and Exchange Commission recently deemed the filed Bitcoin ETF applications as ‘inadequate,’ prompting BlackRock to refile with additional details.
Hot Take:
The growing interest in Bitcoin among institutional investors, as evidenced by the surge in Bitcoin fund holdings, is a positive sign for the mainstream adoption of cryptocurrencies. If approved, a spot Bitcoin ETF could have a significant impact on the market, potentially leading to a reallocation of funds from other Bitcoin investment vehicles. Despite the recent setback with the SEC’s remarks on inadequate filings, the fact that prominent Wall Street firms are actively pursuing Bitcoin ETFs indicates a growing acceptance of cryptocurrencies in the traditional financial sector.