Bitcoin’s price meanders in response to official spot ETF approval

Bitcoin’s market performance was muted Wednesday afternoon as traders and analysts digested news that the SEC has approved 11 bitcoin ETFs

article-image

Monica Martini/Shutterstock modified by Blockworks

share

Bitcoin and crypto-related stocks traded mostly sideways before taking a turn lower Wednesday evening. 

This shift, albeit a muted one, in market behavior occurred as investors parsed through more mixed signals from the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

Bitcoin (BTC) inched slightly lower and subsequently erased its gains on Wednesday afternoon. This market shift followed an incident where a document, claiming eleven bitcoin ETFs had been approved, briefly appeared and then disappeared from the SEC’s website around 3:45 pm ET.

The cryptocurrency hovered between $45,000 and $46,000 from around 3:30 pm ET to 4:30 pm ET before plummeting 2%. 

About 30 minutes later, the notice reappeared on the SEC’s SRO page, confirming that the ruling was true, alongside a statement from SEC Chair Gary Gensler, in which the agency head expressed his typical skepticism about the asset class. 

“While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse bitcoin,” Gensler said. “Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.” 

Ether (ETH), on the other hand soared, gaining as much as 10% Wednesday afternoon before paring gains slightly to trade around 7% higher. 

Coinbase, which will serve as the custodian for eight of the eleven products, saw its stock price end the trading session in the red and dip lower during after-hours trading. COIN was down about 0.5% after hours at time of publication.


Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:

Tags

Upcoming Events

Old Billingsgate

Mon - Wed, October 13 - 15, 2025

Blockworks’ Digital Asset Summit (DAS) will feature conversations between the builders, allocators, and legislators who will shape the trajectory of the digital asset ecosystem in the US and abroad.

Industry City | Brooklyn, NY

TUES - THURS, JUNE 24 - 26, 2025

Permissionless IV serves as the definitive gathering for crypto’s technical founders, developers, and builders to come together and create the future.If you’re ready to shape the future of crypto, Permissionless IV is where it happens.

Brooklyn, NY

SUN - MON, JUN. 22 - 23, 2025

Blockworks and Cracked Labs are teaming up for the third installment of the Permissionless Hackathon, happening June 22–23, 2025 in Brooklyn, NY. This is a 36-hour IRL builder sprint where developers, designers, and creatives ship real projects solving real problems across […]

recent research

Featured.png

Research

Helium stands at a pivotal moment in its evolution as a decentralized wireless network, balancing rapid growth, economic restructuring, and global expansion. With accelerated growth in domestic DAUs and Hotspots supporting its network, Helium is leveraging strategic partnerships and innovative proposals to scale internationally. The recent implementation of HIP 138, “Return to HNT,” has unified its token economy under HNT, simplifying participation and strengthening liquidity, while HIP 139’s phase-out of CBRS refocuses efforts on scalable Wi-Fi offload. Meanwhile, governance shifts under HIP 141 raise questions about centralization as Nova Labs consolidates control over the roadmap.

article-image

In 2011, WikiLeaks faced a financial blockade imposed by the US government. It was Bitcoin’s first major test.

article-image

Kado’s founder Emery Andrew spoke to Blockworks about the acquisition and what’s next for the team

article-image

LayerZero’s Bryan Pellegrino chatted with Blockworks about the firm’s next steps and its 10-year runway

article-image

Colosseum co-founder Matty Taylor is seeing “high-performance [Solana] founders showing a lot of interest in private trading technology”

article-image

Executives weigh the growth potential they see in the public stock and private credit/equities arenas

article-image

Players can stake ME, trade tokens and link wallets to climb the leaderboard