Bitcoin ETFs Approved After Six-Year Wait

This time it’s for real! After at least a six-year wait—and a hoax post on X Tuesday—the Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday granted approval for companies to issue spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds. The approval will make it easier for individuals and institutional investors to invest in bitcoin without holding it directly on a crypto exchange.

Judging by the reaction of the crypto market, investors weren’t exactly surprised. Bitcoin’s price rose only around 3% on the day, to north of $47,000. But Bitcoin has rallied more than 70% since October, when media outlets reported the SEC wouldn’t continue a court fight against the bitcoin ETF concept. So investors may have been assuming approval was a foregone conclusion.