Bitcoin hits $44,500 on spot BTC ETF approval prospects

While a Wednesday Matrixport report warning about a potential rejection may have helped spark a quick 10% drop in bitcoin, the majority of observers continue to expect the U.S. SEC to approve applications

Bitcoin (BTC) Thursday bounced back to $44,500 as investors shrugged off yesterday’s flash crash and stayed optimistic a U.S. spot BTC exchange-traded fund ETF approval is around the corner.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said during U.S. afternoon hours that the SEC was providing final comments on the applications, with prospective issuers then to update their filings accordingly.

Shortly after, TechCrunch reporter Jacquelyn Melinek said that the SEC will soon approve multiple applications, citing sources “extremely close to the matter.”

BTC was 4% higher over the past 24 hours and trading at $44,500 at one time, erasing nearly all of yesterday’s decline to below the $41,000 level.

The expectation of spot-based bitcoin exchange-traded funds that directly hold the underlying asset have been a boon to the crypto market since Wall Street giant BlackRock filed paperwork in June to list one in the U.S. – a move soon followed by a number of other applicants. These vehicles are considered superior to already listed futures-based offerings and bulls are betting they will attract significant inflows to the largest crypto currency.

Nevertheless, a survey released Thursday by Bitwise and VettaFi curiously found that just 39% of financial advisors expected a spot BTC approval this year.

Perhaps more interestingly though, the same survey showed 88% of those advisors see the spot exchange-traded fund as a major catalyst and would be interested in buying bitcoin after approval. Bitwise is among those asset managers with spot bitcoin ETF applications awaiting word from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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