Bitcoin-tracking ETFs: watershed moment or damp squib? | Nils Pratley

The SEC stresses its move does not mean it is endorsing the cryptocurrency, which is near-useless outside of speculation

It's off to the moon for bitcoin's price, then? That, at least, was the tone of advance opinion among the crypto crew if the US financial regulator approved the creation of exchange traded funds (ETFs) that track the value of the cryptocurrency. Now the Securities and Exchange Commission, grudgingly and with a heavy warning that it is not endorsing bitcoin itself, has given a thumbs up.

Cue a fresh whoosh of demand, we are told, from US institutions and private punters who will be able to hitch themselves to the bitcoin wagon without having to go to the bother of opening a digital wallet or dealing with a crypto trading platform. The word watershed" has been used widely to describe the moment. Giant investment names such as BlackRock will be offering these new ETFs. Ease of access and mainstream respectability have arrived as a package.