The world’s most valuable cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is poised to reach a whopping $185,000, provided the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gives the green light to a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This major prediction stems from Tom Lee, an acclaimed crypto commentator, who recently appeared in a CNBN interview. According to Lee, an approval of a spot ETF could create a significant “imbalance”, as it will overtake the daily supply of Bitcoin, thereby causing a surge in prices due to the higher demand.
Bitcoin’s standing remains unchallenged in the world of cryptocurrencies despite a considerable reduction in its market cap over the past 20 months. The cryptocurrency witnessed an all-time high of over $69,000, however, the road went downhill in 2022, leading to a rapid sell-off and causing the prices to plummet to below $16,000 by November 2022. Although Bitcoin staged a convincing recovery, soaring over 50% from its lowest to over $31,000 by late July 2023, eyes remain fixated on SEC’s expected course of action.
The respected financial regulatory body, the SEC, has so far turned a blind eye to cashing in on the ETF derivative that would directly keep a tab on Bitcoin prices. While a Bitcoin Futures ETF, which tracks prices from an array of regulated exchanges has been approved, demands for a Bitcoin spot ETF have been swelling among the crypto community.
Recent indicators hint towards the SEC’s potential nod to the spot ETF concept. A court ruling from August 29 that sided with Grayscale’s claim that their Bitcoin spot ETF is immune to market exploitation, sparked a wave of excitement among the Bitcoin community. The SEC might have been the losing party here, but this didn’t lead to explicit instructions on the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
Hoping that the SEC will soon succumb to the pressure, Bitcoin optimists foresee very little room for the SEC’s evasion and predict that a Bitcoin ETF might be given a go-ahead in the foreseeable future. Substantiating this optimism, two senior ETF analysts from Bloomberg, Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, upped their chances of an eventual approval to 75% for 2023. If this year doesn’t witness an approval, they deem the next year as highly probable, estimating the probability at a towering 95%. The duo attributed their confidence to the recent court ruling’s coherence and assertiveness in the Grayscale vs SEC case, leaving the SEC with little grounds for further objections. Furthermore, they observed that the wide media coverage of said ruling has resulted in a public relations loss for the SEC.