After a summer of fluctuating prices, there’s reason to feel optimistic about Bitcoin’s trajectory. “I believe that [the bitcoin price] will hit $10,000 by the first week of November…[There’s] Less than a 1% chance in my mind that bitcoin won’t succeed,” Hermann Finnbjörnsson, founder and chief executive of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency advisory firm Svandis, recently said.
Let’s take a closer look at why experts are feeling positive about Bitcoin’s trajectory as we go into the late fall.
Pending SEC Approval of Bitcoin ETF
The SEC is expected to give the go ahead to a Bitcoin ETF, enabling customers to invest in a fund that buys crypto, rather than in crypto itself. With the passage of a Bitcoin ETF, customers would be able to bypass cumbersome exchanges, and in doing so, diversify their portfolios while minimizing risk. While the SEC has recently rejected many Bitcoin ETF applications, there are high hopes that one will pass in the near future, especially considering that the SEC already said that Bitcoin and Ether are not securities and proposed easing its rules for low-risk ETFs.
Two different ETFs, in particular, are generating excitement. The first is COBE’s VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF. CBOE’s application has already set itself apart from other Bitcoin ETF applications, as it proposes a secure means of custodianship, as well as a comprehensive insurance policy. While the SEC is not scheduled to release a decision until the end of September, a CBOE VanEck Bitcoin ETF insider said there is a “approval expectation of 99%.”
The second ETF currently gathering buzz is from the International Continental Exchange (ICE), the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) parent company. The ICE plans to launch a bitcoin ETF by November 5, which will be launched under Bakkt, a cryptocurrency platform backed by ICE as well as other heavy hitters such as Microsoft, Starbucks, and Boston Consulting Group.
The Significance of a Bitcoin ETF
The launch of one or multiple Bitcoin ETFs has the potential to yield a groundbreaking impact on the crypto space. Earlier this year, JPMorgan called the prospect of Bitcoin ETFs a “holy grail” for investors. A platform such as Bakkt, which aims to “clear the way for major money managers to offer Bitcoin mutual funds, pension funds, and ETFs, as highly regulated, mainstream investments,” has the potential to drive major institutional money to crypto and draw in a wide range of prospective investors who have previously stayed away.
“We’re one positive regulatory decision away, maybe an ETF approved by the SEC, to climbing through $20,000 and even to $50,000 by the end of the year,” Arthur Hayes, CEO and co-founder of the BitMEX cryptocurrency exchange recently said.
“The main reason behind Bitcoin’s amazing rally in 2017 was a surge in institutional interest, and it’s conceivable that a Bitcoin ETF, and it’s conceivable that a Bitcoin ETF hitting the market could create a similar surge in demand,” Matthew Frankel writes for The Motley Fool.
With the SEC announcement just weeks away, now is the time to wait and see what exciting developments unfold.
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