After years of rejections, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has approved the first wave of Bitcoin spot ETFs for trade in the United States on an accelerated basis.

• Per a filing to the SEC’s website on Wednesday, all 11 Bitcoin ETF applicants have been approved for trade across national securities exchanges like the NYSE, Nasdaq, and CBOE.
• That includes funds provided by Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, BlackRock, Valkyrie, Ark Invest/21Shares, Invesco/Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, and Franklin Templeton.

“Each proposal seeks to list and trade shares of a Trust that would hold spot bitcoin,16 in whole or inPart,” wrote the SEC. “This order approves the Proposals on an accelerated basis.”

• The announcement confirms prior notices from the CBOE indicating that multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs would begin trading at 9:30 am ET on Thursday, including funds from Ark, Fidelity, and Invesco.
• The SEC has rejected spot ETFs for years over fears that the underlying Bitcoin spot market wasn’t sufficiently regulated, and was thus unsuited for public markets.
• However, a court loss to Grayscale in August forced to agency to make a “fresh evaluation” of ETF applications.

“The Commission finds that the Proposals are consistent with the Exchange Act and rules and regulations thereunder applicable to a national securities exchange,” the agency wrote in its approval order, adding that their rules are sufficient to “prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”

“Order granting accelerated approval” it’s over. Thank God. pic.twitter.com/qCozlxzSBX

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 10, 2024