What to Expect on Day One

Spot bitcoin ETFs were finally approved in the U.S. after a tough decade of trying. The next step: Getting them trading Thursday morning.

Following the Securities and Exchange Commission’s green light Wednesday afternoon, the hotly anticipated products will debut on U.S. markets run by the NYSE, Cboe Global Markets and Nasdaq, aided by major trading firms who plan to provide liquidity.

The buying and selling could technically start as early as 4 a.m. ET (09:00 UTC) since that’s when U.S. stock exchanges open – not at the famous daily opening ceremonies held 5 ½ hours later.

Read more: Why Are Bitcoin ETFs Such a Big Deal? Gold Provides a $100 Billion Answer

The products will let virtually any retail customer gain exposure to bitcoin’s [BTC] price using their conventional brokerage apps and accounts, as well as let traditional financial institutions invest without needing to go through crypto exchanges.

These ETFs give investors interested in digital assets more choices, said Cynthia Lo Bessette, head of digital asset management at Fidelity, one of the bitcoin ETF issuers. The latest products are different from the ones approved in 2021 in the U.S., bitcoin futures ETFs, which invest in derivatives, not the digital asset itself.

For full coverage of bitcoin ETFs, click here.

“We’ve long believed a spot-priced exchange traded-product would be an efficient way for investors to gain exposure to bitcoin,” she said. “As a firm, we remain committed to meeting the growing demand from investors by providing them with tools that support their choices and facilitate secure access to markets.”

Similarly, a spokesperson for Cboe Global Markets said the ETFs would give investors “a transparent and regulated” way to track bitcoin’s price. “[The approval] signifies a major step forward in establishing crypto as a tradeable asset class, paving the way for new trading opportunities.”

Read more: Bitcoin ETFs Win SEC Approval, Broadening Crypto Access

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Liquidity pools

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