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

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.

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