Cboe Approves Offers for Spot Bitcoin ETFs Amidst SEC’s Twitter Scandal

On January 10, the Cboe BZX Exchange notified the approvals of listing values from various asset managers one day after the SEC’s Twitter account was “compromised,” falsely announcing the approval of several spot Bitcoin ETFs.

According to the official statement sent to the SEC, Cboe stated it had approved offers for spot Bitcoin ETFs from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, VanEck, WisdomTree, and Franklin Templeton.

Cboe’s announcement coincides with the SEC’s deadline for the approval (rejection or delay) of at least one Bitcoin ETF. Today, the SEC runs out of additional days to delay its decision on the ARK 21Share ETF, leading many analysts to speculate that it’s finally time to see a spot Bitcoin ETF operating in the U.S.

Today, the SEC must make a decision on spot Bitcoin ETFs

Despite yesterday’s controversial false announcement from the SEC’s Twitter account, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst Eric Balchunas is confident that the SEC should approve at least one of the ETFs today for it to begin operating tomorrow, Thursday.

So far, regulators have not commented on the financial vehicle that allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without having to custody or purchase BTC. However, Balchunas expects SEC President Gary Gensler to hold a press conference between 4 and 6 p.m. New Jersey time, informing about the ETF and the hacking incident they experienced yesterday.

“If I were the SEC PR person, I’d advise Gary to do a press conference today, talk about the hack, acknowledge they goofed, steps they’ve taken yada yada, and then also announce ETF approvals (and then do his usual warnings on crypto) all in one shot. Done and done,” said Balchunas.

Bloomberg’s analyst added that the first ‘acceleration request’ has already been submitted, referring to Cboe’s request. This type of request essentially signifies a directive for the launch of ARK Invest’s Bitcoin ETF to occur on the same day as the others, specifically on January 11.

Spot ETFs uncertainty impacts crypto market

After 10 years of rejection, uncertainty about the SEC’s decision today has flooded the crypto market, causing the liquidation of millions of dollars in leveraged Bitcoin positions, both bullish and bearish.

In the last 24 hours, a total of $253 million in BTC positions has been liquidated, the majority of which were from leveraged long traders ($142.23 million). The largest liquidation was to a trader on Bybit worth $6 million, according to Coinglass data.

At the time of writing this note, the BTC price is trading at $46,403, 0.56% below yesterday’s price before the SEC’s false ETF announcement. Therefore, Bitcoin has recovered from yesterday’s flash crash. Will it manage to maintain its price before Gary Gensler’s statements?