While major markets remain closed in the U.S. owing to Independence Day, the action continues unabated in the crypto markets. Bitcoin (BTC-USD), the biggest cryptocurrency globally, is up 1.3% to $31,048 at the time of writing today.
Ethereum (ETH-USD), the second biggest name in the crypto-verse though is down 0.53% to $1,955 today. Importantly, BTC and ETH are up a massive 84.2% and 55.7% respectively over the past six months and the outsized gains continue to attract institutional interest.
After being turned down last year, Fidelity Investments has once again put in paperwork to launch its first spot Bitcoin ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Blackrock (NYSE:BLK) too is eyeing a similar move along with Valkyrie, VanEck, and WisdomTree (NYSE:WT).
The SEC though is in the midst of a whip-cracking campaign with lawsuits against Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN) and Binance. Additionally, the regulatory body has noted that recent filings for spot Bitcoin ETFs are inadequate and lack clarity.
Blackrock’s application for a spot ETF had buoyed investor sentiment in cryptocurrencies but the SEC’s stance is keeping sentiment subdued.
Nonetheless, traders continue to expect spot BTC ETFs to sail through after initial hiccups and if the SEC gives its blessings (eventually) remains to be seen. Meanwhile, BTC is back to testing the $31,000 levels and a decisive break above $31,500 could mean new multi-month highs for the crypto bellwether.
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