news Archives - InvestaDaily

On Wednesday, January 10, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, clearing the way for them to start trading on Thursday, January 11, 2024. This is a historic moment for the crypto industry, as it marks the first time that the SEC has allowed investors to access bitcoin directly through a regulated and transparent vehicle.

How It Happened

The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs has been a long-awaited and highly anticipated event for the crypto community. The first application for a bitcoin ETF was filed by the Winklevoss twins in 2013. However, the SEC rejected it in 2017. They cited concerns over market manipulation, fraud, and lack of regulation. Since then, many other applications have been submitted but none have received the green light until now.

The tide began to turn in 2021, when the SEC approved several bitcoin ETFs based on futures contracts, which are derivatives that track the price of bitcoin without holding the actual asset. These products, however, have higher fees, lower liquidity, and more complexity than spot bitcoin ETFs, which directly hold bitcoin in custody and reflect its market price.

The breakthrough came in June 2023, when Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, filed an application for a spot bitcoin ETF, signaling its confidence in the crypto space and its readiness to meet the SEC’s standards. Following Blackrock’s move, many other prominent financial firms, such as Fidelity, VanEck, WisdomTree, and Invesco, also filed their own applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, creating a critical mass of support and pressure for the SEC to act.

The SEC finally announced its approval of 11 spot bitcoin ETFs on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, after the close of trading. The approved products are:

Blackrock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT)

ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB)

WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund (BTCW)

Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCO)

Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB)

VanEck Bitcoin Trust (HODL)

Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)

Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust (FBTC)

Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund (BRRR)

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC)

Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI)

These products will be listed and traded on various stock exchanges such as Cboe, NYSE, and Nasdaq. Trading of BTC ETFs will start on Thursday, January 11, 2024.

What It Means for the Market

The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs is expected to have a positive impact on the crypto market. It will make bitcoin more accessible, attractive, and mainstream for investors. Some of the potential benefits are:

Increased demand and adoption

Spot bitcoin ETFs will lower the barriers to entry and reduce the friction for investors. This is especially true for institutional and retail investors who prefer to use traditional and regulated platforms. Spot bitcoin ETFs will also increase the visibility and awareness of bitcoin among the general public.

Improved liquidity and efficiency

Spot bitcoin ETFs will increase the trading volume and liquidity of bitcoin, as they will create more arbitrage opportunities and market participants. They will also improve the price discovery and efficiency of bitcoin. Hopefully, this will reflect its true market value and reduce the discrepancies between different platforms and regions.

Enhanced security and transparency

Spot bitcoin ETFs will offer a higher level of security and transparency for investors. they will be subject to the oversight and regulation of the SEC and other authorities. Spot bitcoin ETFs will also have to comply with strict standards of custody, auditing, reporting, and disclosure. This is all to ensure that investors’ funds are safe and accounted for.

On a Side Note

The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs is a major milestone for the crypto industry, as it demonstrates the growing recognition and acceptance of bitcoin as a legitimate and valuable asset class. Spot bitcoin ETFs will likely boost the adoption and innovation of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, paving the way for a more inclusive and decentralized financial system.

While this is definitely a bullish development, remember that anything can happen in the markets. Cryptocurrencies will most likely experience long-lasting bullishness. However, this news could become a “sell on news” kind of event given that everyone has already been anticipating this to occur.

BREAKING NEWS: BobbyAxel and Taylor Go Head-to-Head in Championship Round!

First of all, we would like to congratulate each and every one of the participants in the Investagrams Trading Cup 2017! Not only have we opened up a fun avenue for both beginners and experts to improve their skills, we have also made history in our country making this the BIGGEST stock trading competition to date in the Philippines.

We’ve had a very intense competition these past few months, which was led by two great traders in the top spot—BobbyAxel Rod and Taylor. They whizzed past the rest of the pack, with each of them turning their PHP 100,000 virtual portfolios into PHP 364,160.13 and PHP 354,225.97 respectively. Only a tight margin of around 3% separates these two competitors—both superb performances for sure.

We want to share with you however, that there were certain concerns brought up to us during the span of the competition regarding the trading of illiquid stocks. As many of you know, part of our rules are protection measures against typical rinse-and-repeat trading methods that are not applicable in the real market. Because of this, we previously sent out warnings and communications to all players so that we keep the integrity of the competition intact. Our goal here was to emphasize the importance of applying strategies that are realistic and applicable in the PSE.

But we realized during the competition that since our virtual trading platform is not yet as perfect as we would like it to be, there were some opportunities in the competition that were not perfectly in sync with those in real life. That is not to say that these opportunities were unrealistic altogether, but there were some disputable trades that came up. Admittedly on our part, we also understand that we could have done a better job defining which trades would be considered valid and which ones would not be allowed. This is something we will definitely improve for the next competitions.

In an effort to maintain the fairness and integrity in this situation, we reviewed all of the top players’ trades. During this review, we saw that a certain degree of illiquid trades are really unavoidable due to the sudden and often inevitable inactivity of some stocks—whether due to general liquidity or because of the holiday season last December. In line with the concerns raised, we revisited the standings of the top players assuming all remotely illiquid trades were removed. After doing this, we found that even after taking out all the profits from illiquid situations among top 10, the standings still remain the same with Taylor and BobbyAxel Rod still claiming the top 2 spots, except with their rankings switched.

We have discussed this issue with both BobbyAxel Rod and Taylor in great detail over the past couple of weeks. After taking into account all of the issues that were brought up, and seeing how both of these traders have performed and competed with their best effort, our team has decided that the fairest thing to do is to award them BOTH with the 1st prize of PHP 100,000 and the travel package.

In addition, both contenders have also agreed to help us keep the essence of Investagrams Trading Cup by proceeding to a CHAMPIONSHIP ROUND!

On January 20, both BobbyAxel Rod and Taylor will present their strategies and defend in front of an external panel composed of different professionals from the industry. They will be graded by the panel based on metrics such as Strategy, Risk Management, Execution, Comprehensiveness of Defense, and more. These will compose of 90% of their score. However, 10% of the scoring will be based on the Audience’s Vote—to also take into consideration the view of our community.

Both of them have shown immense trading skills, both of them are first prize winners, but only one of them will be the CHAMPION and win the Investagrams Trading CUP! An exciting match ahead, see you on January 20!