Bitcoin ETF Confusion Abounds

A hacked X/Twitter account and misunderstood filings make for a wild countdown to an expected approval.

The crypto industry can breathe a sigh of relief: It looks like a federal U.S. regulator will let the world's largest traditional finance asset managers and other firms list and trade shares of a vehicle giving retail and institutional investors exposure to the price of a decentralized, trustless, stateless digital asset (if you're in the U.S.). But of course, the bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) drama wouldn't be complete without, well, drama.
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On Tuesday afternoon Eastern time, the official X (formerly Twitter) account belonging to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that all outstanding applications to list and trade shares of a spot bitcoin ETF had been approved. The problem was that none of these applications had been approved; the account was "compromised" and someone posted a 'shopped graphic.
On Wednesday, Cboe BZX exchange started taking some additional steps to list and trade shares of spot bitcoin ETFs, further suggesting we may be close to an approval.