the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Ridgewood NJ, after years of delay and unclear guidance , US regulators have formally granted approval for exchange-traded funds (ETFs) directly investing in Bitcoin, marking a significant development for the approximately $1.7 trillion digital-asset sector. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlit 11 funds to commence trading on Thursday. Well before the official announcement, amid the aftermath of Tuesday’s SEC social media account hack, competition among potential Bitcoin ETF issuers had already escalated. In a bid to enhance product attractiveness to investors, companies were cutting prices, with BlackRock reducing the fee on its iShares ETF by five basis points to 0.25% and adjusting its introductory offer on the fund. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas noted, “BlackRock is really going for the jugular here,” as companies vie for a competitive edge.
