Bitcoin price tested $30,000 for the second time this week on Friday as the world's largest digital asset moves closer to having an exchange traded fund. Ethereum retook its $1,600 level while cryptocurrency prices trended higher.
Cryptocurrency executives and experts are increasingly hopeful that the Securities and Exchange Commission will approve a bitcoin ETF in the near future after the regulator declined to appeal its court loss against Grayscale Investments last Friday.
The panel of judges for the D.C. Circuit court previously ruled in August that the SEC arbitrarily rejected Grayscale's application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot bitcoin ETF.
Grayscale filed an S-3 form with the SEC on Thursday to register its $18 billion bitcoin trust as a product under the 1933 Securities Act, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Cryptocurrency prices and related stocks rallied at the beginning of the week following the SEC news Friday. Bitcoin's price briefly spiked to $30,000 on a false reports the SEC approved BlackRock's spot bitcoin ETF before easing to around $28,000.
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink weighed in on the rumor-fueled surge in a Fox Business interview Monday.
"I think it's just an example of the pent-up interest in crypto. We are hearing from clients around the world about the need for crypto," Fink said. "Some of this rally is way beyond the rumor — I think the rally today is about a flight to quality."
Sustained Hopes For Bitcoin ETF
"I'm quite hopeful that these applications will be granted, if only because they should be granted under the law," Paul Grewal, Coinbase chief legal officer, said during a CNBC interview Thursday.
Grewal noted that judges in court cases continue to question the U.S. approach to crypto regulation and SEC interpretation of crypto laws.
"I think that, after the U.S. Court of Appeals made clear that the SEC could not reject these applications on arbitrary or capricious basis, we're going to see the commission fulfill its responsibilities. I'm quite confident in that," he said.
Grewal added Coinbase believes other ETFs will launch, "soon enough, as the SEC follows the law" and applies neutral judgment to pending applications. He did not give a timeline for his expectations.
"I think many people think the fact that the SEC chose to ask questions is a change in behavior," ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood said during a CNBC interview Monday. "I do think that hopes are rising that a, or a number of bitcoin ETFs will be approved."
ARK Invest has its own bitcoin ETF application in the works and responded to the SEC's information request about the filing on Oct. 11.
Wood believes a batch of spot bitcoin ETFs will likely be approved in the near future, she said during an episode of the "Coin Stories" podcast on Oct. 12, TheStreet reported.
"It could happen this year, given the movement we're seeing," she said. "I think most people would say it will happen early next year, but it could happen this year."
Other Crypto Drivers
The SEC also decided to drop its lawsuit against two Ripple executives that oversaw $1.5 billion in sales of the XRP token, the WSJ reported. CEO Brad Glaringhouse and co-founder Chris Larsen were charged with illegally selling securities and decided to take on the SEC in court instead of settle.
The SEC has two outstanding lawsuits against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance.
Elsewhere, bitcoin surged above $29,000 late Thursday after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell hinted at pausing interest rate hikes.
The latest earnings report from Tesla made no mention of bitcoin, implying Elon Musk's electric car company did not buy or sell the digital asset during the quarter and still holds 9,720 bitcoin on its balance sheet.
Bitcoin Price
Bitcoin price rallied as high as $30,188 early Friday — its highest level since mid-July — before easing back near $29,500. BTC is up roughly 10% on the week as of Friday afternoon. The world's largest cryptocurrency bolted 78% so far in 2023.
Ethereum climbed nearly 3% over the past 24 hours to reclaim its $1,600 level as cryptocurrency prices surged. ETH is up 34% on the year.
COIN stock swung 2.1% higher Friday. MicroStrategy, which holds a large amount of bitcoin, pared gains to 1.7% after advancing 4% in the morning.
Grayscale's GBTC jumped 4.6% Friday to extend beyond a buy zone for a consolidation.
Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital inched up after scrambling 5.7% higher in the morning. Similarly, Riot Platforms added 0.6% during trade following its 4.2% gain at the open. Hut 8 Mining surged 3.9% after spiking nearly 10% early Friday.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on X/Twitter @IBD_Harrison
