• The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval delay way before the deadline of January 1.
  • This is most likely an attempt at ensuring fair play by approving all Spot BTC ETFs together in January.
  • On the other hand Standard Chartered is still holding on to its opinion that Bitcoin price will reach $100,000 by the end of 2024.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took the rather unexpected decision of providing its decision on an application nearly 30 days before its scheduled deadline. While it may not be terrible news, it seems to confirm one thing from the SEC.

All Bitcoin ETFs could be approved together

The SEC, in a filing on Tuesday, gave its decision on one of the last two remaining Spot Bitcoin ETF applicants - Franklin. Hashdex and Franklin are the only two entities that were scheduled to receive their decision just before the rest of the applicants did. January 1, 2024, was their scheduled deadline and had the SEC delayed its decision right then, it would have needed a little longer than nine days to provide its next decision.

This would have interfered with the regulatory body’s plans to approve all the Spot BTC ETF applications at the same time. The Commission is doing so in order to eliminate any first-mover advantage that either of the applicants may receive if not all the applications are given a green light at the same time.

This was explained by crypto enthusiast and lawyer Scott Johnson, who said,

“The issue was Global X had a comment period ending December 29. So, if the SEC wanted to approve all at the same time, they had to do this. Otherwise Global X period would have ended on a Friday on the last business day before the Hashdex/Franklin deadline. No time to do approval.

Similarly, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart also took to X, formerly Twitter, to reiterate that the delay for Hashdex’s application confirms that the SEC is likely lining all the spot BTC ETF applications up for potential approval by January 10, 2024.

This date is expected to be the point of initiation of the next bull run as institutions, along with retail investors, would flood the market with money as they get their hands on the newly launched ETFs.

Standard Chartered Bitcoin targets are intact

Back in April this year, the team of the Standard Chartered bank, led by Geoff Kendrick, forecasted that Bitcoin price will most likely reach $100,000 by the end of 2024. The team stated that the ETFs would act as the catalyst. 

This opinion was reiterated recently by the bank and Kendrick’s team, saying that the targets remain unchanged as everything is still in place. He added that the dominance of Bitcoin in the cryptocurrency space is well above 50%, up from 45% in April.

This would mean that Bitcoin price would need to rally by 168% in the span of just 13 months. Furthermore, when 1 BTC is valued at $100,000, the total market cap of the cryptocurrency would rise to $1.955 trillion, given the current circulating supply of 19.55 million BTC.

BTC/USD 1-day chart

BTC/USD 1-day chart

This is higher than the market capitalization of the entire crypto market at the moment and is also higher than that of most of the commodities and stocks except for Microsoft and Apple, making this a rather unlikely event.

Nevertheless, given the coming conditions and the rise in adoption, it will prove to be a highly bullish season for Bitcoin.


Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on this page are for informational purposes only and should not in any way come across as a recommendation to buy or sell in these assets. You should do your own thorough research before making any investment decisions. FXStreet does not in any way guarantee that this information is free from mistakes, errors, or material misstatements. It also does not guarantee that this information is of a timely nature. Investing in Open Markets involves a great deal of risk, including the loss of all or a portion of your investment, as well as emotional distress. All risks, losses and costs associated with investing, including total loss of principal, are your responsibility. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of FXStreet nor its advertisers. The author will not be held responsible for information that is found at the end of links posted on this page.

If not otherwise explicitly mentioned in the body of the article, at the time of writing, the author has no position in any stock mentioned in this article and no business relationship with any company mentioned. The author has not received compensation for writing this article, other than from FXStreet.

FXStreet and the author do not provide personalized recommendations. The author makes no representations as to the accuracy, completeness, or suitability of this information. FXStreet and the author will not be liable for any errors, omissions or any losses, injuries or damages arising from this information and its display or use. Errors and omissions excepted.

The author and FXStreet are not registered investment advisors and nothing in this article is intended to be investment advice.

Recommended content


Recommended Content

Editors’ Picks

Bitcoin rises 4% amid long liquidations, and short-term holders realized share

Bitcoin rises 4% amid long liquidations, and short-term holders realized share

Bitcoin climbed above $63,000 on Friday after Mt Gox pushed its repayment plans to 2025, easing tension among investors. Meanwhile, CryptoQuant data reveals that Bitcoin long liquidations hit $290 million on Thursday, the highest level since 2022.

More Bitcoin News
Arbitrum, EigenLayer, Axie Infinity lead over $214 million worth of token unlocks this week

Arbitrum, EigenLayer, Axie Infinity lead over $214 million worth of token unlocks this week

Token Unlocks data on Friday indicates that the crypto market is poised for another round of supply hikes this week, with EigenLayer, Arbitrum, Axie Infinity and Starknet set to release a combined $214 million worth of their tokens into circulation.

More Cryptocurrencies News
XRP holds steady above $0.53 as Ripple confirms cross-appeal, Bitnomial sues SEC

XRP holds steady above $0.53 as Ripple confirms cross-appeal, Bitnomial sues SEC

Ripple holds steady above key support at $0.5300. The altcoin gains as the payment remittance firm confirms the filing of a cross-appeal in the Ripple lawsuit with the Securities & Exchange Commission. Ripple is gearing up to introduce new features for its custody solutions for institutional investors. 

More Ripple News
Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH reclaims $2,395 support but risks inflationary pressure with Unichain's launch

Ethereum Price Forecast: ETH reclaims $2,395 support but risks inflationary pressure with Unichain's launch

Ethereum (ETH) reclaimed the $2,395 support level on Friday and is attempting a move toward the $2,490 resistance. The top altcoin could face inflationary pressure in the coming months when Uniswap's Unichain goes live due to the decentralized finance protocol's large contribution to Ethereum revenue and daily burnt ETH.

More Ethereum News
Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: Will BTC decline further?

Bitcoin Weekly Forecast: Will BTC decline further?

Bitcoin’s (BTC) price fell over 6% at some point this week until Thursday, extending losses for a second consecutive week, as it faced rejection from a key resistance barrier.

Read full analysis
Five best Forex brokers in 2024

Five best Forex brokers in 2024

VERIFIED Choosing the best Forex broker in 2024 requires careful consideration of certain essential factors. With the wide array of options available, it is crucial to find a broker that aligns with your trading style, experience level, and financial goals. 

Read More

BTC

ETH

XRP