Bitcoin (BTC) bounced back strongly on Thursday, reaching $44,500 & recovering most of its recent losses after a quick drop. Investors are feeling hopeful because they think the U.S. might be close to saying “yes” to spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF).
BTC Bounces Back
In a recent report from Matrixport signalling doubt over the approval of Bitcoin ETF on Wednesday, the crypto community stayed positive and didn’t let it affect their optimism.
Perhaps most folks still believe that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will likely approve the applications, maybe even by Friday. However, a Bloomberg analyst mentioned that the SEC is almost done looking at the applications, and once that’s done, companies can make any last-minute changes.
TechCrunch reporter Jacquelyn Melinek, citing sources close to the matter, added credibility to the optimism, stating that the SEC is on the verge of approving multiple applications.
As of now, Bitcoin is up by 4% in the last 24 hours and was trading at $43,750 as per the Coinpedia report, showing resilience by recovering from yesterday’s dip below the $41,000 mark.
What Financial Advisors Think
Surprisingly, a Bitwise and VettaFi survey revealed that only 39% of financial advisors expect approval for a spot BTC ETF this year. However, 88% of these advisors identified the spot ETF approval as a major catalyst, expressing interest in purchasing Bitcoin post-approval.
Companies like Bitwise, alongside other asset managers, eagerly await the SEC’s decision on its spot bitcoin ETF applications.
Ether’s Turn on the Horizon
Matrixport’s Markus Thielen, despite his earlier cautionary report, expects the SEC to greenlight spot-based ETFs eventually. Thielen anticipates a potential dip in bitcoin prices in the coming weeks based on technical indicators signalling a faltering uptrend.
Looking ahead, he foresees a shift in investor focus to Ethereum’s ether (ETH) once spot BTC ETFs receive approval. Spot-based ether ETF decisions are expected around May, with Thielen predicting significant outperformance of ETH over BTC post-approval.
