Bitcoin’s $26,068 rise has dropped abruptly within a day, erasing gains spurred by Grayscale Investment’s winning court battle against the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
Just as the crypto community was celebrating Bitcoin’s two-week high on August 29, following a judge’s sharp criticism of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) “arbitrary and capricious” behavior in rejecting Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application, a sudden twist of fate changed the landscape.
The recent SEC decision to postpone decisions on seven pending spot Bitcoin ETF applications has cast a pall over the crypto sphere, leading Bitcoin’s value to fall by roughly 5% in 24 hours.
Market data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro offers a bleak image, with Bitcoin’s current value hovering around $26,000, a far cry from the healthy $27,300 level it had been holding post-Grayscale’s victory.
Renowned investing firms such as BlackRock, WisdomTree, VanEck, Bitwise, Valkyrie, Fidelity, and an Invesco-Galaxy joint venture are prepared to enter the ETF market. However, their preparations were abruptly halted on August 31 by the SEC’s unexpected decision, leaving investors in the dark.
Although sure market watchers, like Bloomberg’s ETF experts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, had predicted these delays, the impact on Bitcoin’s value was more significant than anticipated.
While the SEC’s decision gives them a further 45 days to approve, deny, or postpone these applications, the market’s attention is now focused on the upcoming decision dates, which are slated between October 16 and 19. However, the SEC retains the authority to postpone the verdicts until mid-March next year, adding excitement to the growing story.
Regarding possibilities, Eric Balchunas has been at the vanguard of forecasting the SEC’s stance on spot Bitcoin ETFs. On August 30, Balchunas increased his odds of approving an area Bitcoin ETF this year from 65% to a more bullish 75%. His newfound optimism originates from Grayscale’s lawsuit triumph, a watershed moment that jeopardizes the SEC’s denial justification.
As the judge’s unanimous rejection of the SEC’s arguments reverberates throughout the industry, it becomes clear that the regulator may find it difficult to justify further denials in the face of impending deadlines.
All eyes are on the unfolding drama as Bitcoin’s voyage through regulatory hurdles takes another twist in the unpredictable world of cryptocurrencies, where fortunes may change instantly.
