Baystreet Staff
The price of Ethereum (ETH) is up 7% after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved nearly a dozen spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to begin trading on American markets.
Investors and traders are betting that Ethereum ETFs will be next to come to market, with the SEC expected to rule on whether to approve those investment vehicles by this summer.
The regulator announced after the close of markets that it approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications, paving the way for them to begin trading today (Jan. 11).
The companies launching Bitcoin ETFs include BlackRock (BLK), Invesco (IVZ), and Fidelity, among others.
However, approval of the ETFs has led to muted trading in Bitcoin, whose price is currently up 2% to $47,000 U.S.
Conversely, the price of Ethereum has climbed 7% higher to trade at $2,640 U.S. At one point, Ethereum’s price was up 12%.
Retail investors are expected to pour billions of dollars into cryptocurrency ETFs as they provide a cheaper and safer way to gain exposure to digital assets such as Bitcoin.
While the SEC approved the spot Bitcoin ETFs, the agency stressed that it still doesn’t recommend investors put money into crypto, calling it a “speculative” investment.
Still, analysts say that a precedent has now been set with the Bitcoin ETFs and many expect spot Ethereum ETFs to follow later this year.
The price of Bitcoin has risen more than 160% in the past 12 months largely on expectations that the ETFs would be approved by the SEC.
