Bitcoin hovered near six-month highs on Monday, holding above the $60,000 mark, ahead of the listing of the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the U.S. which investors hope will both boost trading volume and offer further legitimacy to the largest digital currency by market cap.
At least, bitcoin is traded for $61,580. 50, up 0.65 per cent after cutting the $60,000 threshold on Friday. The digital currency exchange rate dipped below $60,000 over the weekend before recovering on Sunday night. Ether, the world's second largest digital currency, went down 2.14 per cent at $3789.60, while XRP was down 4.09 per cent at $1.09.
On Monday, ProShares officially announced plans to launch the first bitcoin-linked ETF in the U.S. on Tuesday. The SEC does not need to take any formal action to approve the filings. Under federal law, applications can become effective if the SEC allows a mandated deadline to pass without requesting changes or directing the aspiring issuer to pull the filing.
If the SEC does not object, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF will have a 72-day period as the fund manager filed plans and could start trading on Tuesday.
Other fund managers who reportedly applied to launch bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. and that included VanEck bitcoin trust, Invesco, Valkyrie and Galaxy Digital Funds could find themselves in similar position in the coming days and weeks, leading to additional ETF launches and in turn wider retail and institutional investment in digital assets.
On Friday the Nasdaq approved the listing of the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF. According to reports, the world s largest digital currency manager is planning to convert its flagship product, the Grayscale bitcoin trust, into a spot bitcoin ETF.