For over a decade, the crypto industry had been trying to get a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) approved in the United States. An ETF would allow traditional investors to buy Bitcoin exposure through their regular brokerage accounts, without needing to deal with cryptocurrency exchanges or wallet management. It would open Bitcoin to trillions of dollars of institutional capital. The SEC had repeatedly denied these applications, citing concerns about market manipulation and custody.
The first Bitcoin ETF proposal was filed by the Winklevoss twins in 2013. It was denied. In the years that followed, dozens of other applications were submitted. All were denied. Grayscale’s attempt to convert its GBTC trust into an ETF was denied in 2022. Grayscale sued the SEC, and in August 2023, a federal court ruled that the SEC’s denial was “arbitrary and capricious.” The writing was on the wall.
On January 10, 2024, the SEC finally approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously. BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), and nine others began trading the next day. The approval had been preceded by months of speculation, with Bitcoin’s price rising in anticipation. The actual launch was almost anticlimactic — the ETFs went live, investors bought them, life continued. But the long-term implications were enormous.
The ETFs quickly became one of the most successful product launches in financial history. Within a few months, they had accumulated over $50 billion in assets. By the end of 2024, that number exceeded $100 billion. BlackRock’s IBIT became one of the fastest-growing ETFs ever. Traditional financial advisors, who had previously refused to discuss Bitcoin with clients, now had an easy way to add crypto exposure to portfolios.
The ETF launch triggered a new Bitcoin bull market. From around $43,000 at launch, Bitcoin climbed to over $100,000 by late 2024. Institutional buying was a major driver. Every day, the ETFs collectively bought thousands of bitcoins, creating sustained buying pressure. The “digital gold” narrative was finally being validated at an institutional level. For Bitcoin believers who had waited years for this moment, it was a triumph. For skeptics, it was proof that the system had absorbed what it had tried to reject. Either way, January 10, 2024 marked Bitcoin’s full acceptance into the traditional financial system.
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