5:00 ET: Grayscale and BlackRock spot Bitcoin ETFs begin pre-market trading on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) at $21.89.
2:30 ET: BlackRock's impressive 576-1 ETF approval ratings spark discussions around the nearing August 2024 deadline of its recently filed Ether (ETH) ETF application.
Jan. 11, 12:30 ET: Not to take away from the momentous occasion for Bitcoin, but eyes are already starting to turn to spot Ethereum ETFs. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas has tipped a 70% chance for approvals in May, while Polymarket’s predictions market has already gathered $4,000 of bets on the outcome.
10:50 ET: Coincidence? Today’s spot Bitcoin ETF approvals come 15 years after the late Hal Finney’s “Running Bitcoin” tweet — around the time he received the first Bitcoin transaction of 10 BTC.
Running bitcoin
— halfin (@halfin) January 11, 2009
10:25 ET: Here comes the ads. ARK Invest has dropped its new ad campaign, "Aren’t You Just a Little Bit-Curious?" Have you seen some of the others yet?
10:00 pm ET: There's one X account that hasn't said a thing about Bitcoin ETFs since approvals. Any guesses who?
9:30 pm ET: Betting it all on black eh? Data from Polymarket — a decentralized prediction platform running on Polygon — shows a whopping $12.6 million was bet on the outcome of spot Bitcoin ETFs by Jan.15. The outcome has flicked to “Yes.”
9:15 pm ET: U.S. Rep Patrick McHenry: “... the steps taken today are a significant improvement over the SEC’s track record of regulation by enforcement.”
8:05 pm ET: Oh, you’re donating 5% of ETF profits to support Bitcoin devs, VanEck? Thats great. But Bitwise is going with 10%. Your move.
Bitwise will donate 10% of the profits of the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (ticker: BITB) to bitcoin open-source development.
— Bitwise (@BitwiseInvest) January 10, 2024
Recipient orgs:
- @BitcoinBrink
- @OpenSats
- @HRF
Bitcoin is important to the future. We're excited for $BITB to support its foundation pic.twitter.com/JMzd4bMOB9
7:25 pm ET: Franklin Templeton adds laser eyes to its X profile pic, and Elon Musk reportedly says he’ll consider using Bitcoin. Meanwhile, “BTC ETF,” “ETF Approval,” and “Approved” are trending on X, with millions of posts each.
#NewProfilePic pic.twitter.com/OZTfkehgUa
— Franklin Templeton (@FTI_US) January 10, 2024
7:20 pm ET: SEC Commissioner Hester 'Crypto Mom’ Peirce has come out with what many suspected. Today’s approvals probably couldn’t have happened without the Grayscale v. SEC ruling in October 2023. Here’s what she said.
7:00 pm ET: Raise your glasses, everyone. Grayscale has confirmed that its new shiny Bitcoin Trust spot variant will list on NYSE Arca and is expected to start trading on Jan. 11
6:50 pm ET: Price check, aisle 3. So far, it doesn’t look like this has been a “sell-the-news” event. Bitcoin is trading at $46,580 but went as high as $47,650 after the ETFs were approved.
Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index is 76 - Extreme Greed
— Bitcoin Fear and Greed Index (@BitcoinFear) January 11, 2024
Current price: $46,628 pic.twitter.com/UuNIIaToQ4
6:45 pm ET: It turns out that Gary Gensler, Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda were the commissioners (out of five) who ultimately voted yes to spot Bitcoin ETFs. That means Gensler may have been the ultimate decider. Caroline Crenshaw, one of the commissioners who voted no, has stated she’s “deeply concerned” about today’s actions.
6:10 pm ET: Hello, Felix here, I’m the news editor to cover the next eight hours or so. I’ll be here to keep you up to speed with everything spot Bitcoin ETF — and I'm bringing you positive vibes already.
The required S-1 approvals are coming in. That means spot Bitcoin ETFs could begin trading as early as tomorrow, per Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.
5:35 pm ET: A closer inspection of the statement from Chair Gensler gives us some insights into the SEC’s stance on cryptocurrencies. With words like “we did not approve or endorse Bitcoin,” he‘s most certainly not being neutral. See what you think.
5:15 pm ET: While it’s certainly Bitcoin’s day, the other top crypto coin, Ether, is also keen to get in on the act. Find out how the situation looks for ETH here.
4:55 pm ET: One of the parties vying for spot Bitcoin ETF approval, Grayscale Investments, has now published its official notice of approval. More to follow soon, no doubt.
And Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Invest, is now live on Twitter discussing the news, but Cointelegraph’s stream is the place to be!
4:45 pm ET: So, those of you who thought the announcement would be priced in, you may well be right. Bitcoin has barely batted an eyelid at the news. Was yesterday’s hoax the smash-and-grab planned for today’s announcement?
As you can see, in the minutes since the announcement, we’ve had very little action at all. Was everyone anticipating yet another hoax and held back?
4:40 pm ET: We have the first words from SEC Chair Gary Gensler. An official statement is now up on the SEC website.
4:35 pm ET: The Cointelegraph live YouTube stream is beginning right now. Head on over, and catch up with hosts Robert Baggs and Giovanni Pigni on all the developments — live and in color!
4:30 pm ET: We have our first reactions to the news, from Bloomberg stalwarts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart.
“Order granting accelerated approval” it’s over. Thank God. pic.twitter.com/qCozlxzSBX
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 10, 2024
Anyone worried that this was a potential fakeout again. NOPE.
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 10, 2024
The 19b-4 approval order has officially hit the SEC front facing part of the website: https://t.co/Veb0IzH99Z pic.twitter.com/5WVBHzVdHf
4:25 pm ET: The link is working again, so check it out for yourself before the gremlins come back!
4:20 pm ET: Hi, I’m Stu, and I’ll be here to keep you updated as this story develops over the coming hours. First of all, let’s see how the news was announced today.
Well, as always, it was less than smooth! The approval document briefly appeared on the SEC website, only to disappear moments later, leaving an “Error 404” message in its wake.
4:20 pm ET: Good morning, good afternoon or good evening, wherever you are! The news is out: Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been approved by the SEC, and Cointelegraph is here to keep you up-to-date on all the latest news and comments as this story develops. Stay with us over the coming hours as we provide a live blog.
