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Author: Admin | 2025-04-28
Over a decade after the first application was filed, the crypto industry finally witnessed the Securities and Exchange Commission approve the first regulated spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States.The spot Bitcoin ETF approval was a historic milestone for crypto, but the road was not smooth. It all started on July 1, 2013, when Gemini co-founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed the first application for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. However, despite the twins’ efforts and a back-and-forth with the SEC, the agency eventually rejected the application in 2017. The decision led finance and media pundits to declare that Bitcoin was not ready for the mainstream.In the same year, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) debuted as an open-ended, private trust for accredited investors, and it received approval from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) to trade publicly in 2015. While this was not an ETF, it eventually became the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund in the U.S. and was ultimately converted into a spot-based ETF.Following the SEC’s rejection decision, the Winklevoss twins made a second effort to get a spot Bitcoin ETF approval, only to be again denied by the SEC in 2018 after the agency deemed Bitcoin’s nature largely unregulated.Throughout the years, many wondered if there would ever be an approval for a spot ETF for Bitcoin, until Canada took the lead one day. According to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas, in 2021, Fidelity Canada launched a spot Bitcoin ETF, making it the largest asset manager with a Bitcoin ETF at the time.SEMI-SHOCK: Fidelity launching a spot bitcoin ETF in Canada this week. Didn't know about this. Will easily be the biggest asset manager to date with a bitcoin ETF. pic.twitter.com/H2XJRBY3O6— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 30, 2021In 2022, the SEC rejected more applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF from asset managers SkyBridge, Fidelity, Bitwise and Grayscale. In response, Grayscale Investments launched a lawsuit against the SEC after its application to convert GBTC into a spot-based ETF was denied.Related: Spot Bitcoin ETF could bring $30 trillion into the market — Grayscale CEOIn 2023, asset managers BlackRock and ARK Invest joined the race for a spot in the spot Bitcoin ETF arena, further fueling hopes that the new Bitcoin investment vehicle will eventually be approved. On Aug. 29, 2023, Grayscale scored a win when U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit Judge Neomi Rao ordered the SEC
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