Bitcoin’s ‘Worst Kept Secret’ Is About To Have A ‘Huge’ Price Impact

On Feb 16, 2024

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11/27 update below. This post was originally published on November 25

BitcoinBTC has seen a huge resurgence in recent weeks, barreling back into a bitcoin price bull market despite fears the U.S. could be about to “kill” it.

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The bitcoin price has more than doubled since November last year (with recent events suggesting 2024 could be even more impactful).

Now, Dan Morehead, the influential founder of bitcoin and crypto investment company Pantera Capital, has predicted the “worst kept secret” in bitcoin could be about to have a “huge” impact.

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some expect to play havoc with the bitcoin price.Getty Images

“As we approach what appears to be the worst kept secret in blockchain, the launch of a number of spot bitcoin ETFs, will the news, when it finally does come, be a time to sell,” Morehead asked in a blog post.

11/27 update: Ark Investment Management, led by star stock picker Cathie Wood, has proposed charging a fee of 0.80% on its proposed bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) that it filed for with Switzerland-based crypto manager 21Shares, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing.

Ark’s proposed fee is lower than the 2% charged by crypto asset manager Grayscale for its flagship bitcoin trust and under the fees charged for some existing bitcoin futures ETFs.

The SEC is working toward a January 10 deadline for Ark’s bitcoin spot ETF bid, with traders and analysts betting the agency could greenlight multiple funds at once, potentially triggering a fierce battle for dominance in what’s widely seen as a winner-takes-all market.

Earlier this month, Wood called BlackRock’s bitcoin ETF filing a “breakthrough” that will spur the bitcoin price sharply higher over the next few years.

The bitcoin price was turbo-charged by BlackRockBLK, the world’s largest asset manager, in June when it made a surprise application to launch a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF), potentially opening up the bitcoin market to the $48.3 trillion U.S. wealth management industry.

BlackRock’s bitcoin spot filing triggered a flood of rival Wall Street giants to file for their own bitcoin funds, with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now weighing around a dozen applications.

climbing along with gold as the Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady in its fight against inflation.Forbes Digital Assets

“A BlackRock ETF fundamentally changes access to bitcoin,” Morehead wrote. “It will have a huge (positive) impact. We strongly believe many spot bitcoin ETFs will be approved. We also believe it will happen in a matter of a month or two—not years.”

Expectations have soared in recent weeks that the approval of a bitcoin spot ETF is imminent, with Bloomberg Intelligence analysts putting the odds that the SEC will greenlight a fund by January 2024 at 90%.

Morehead added that the advent of a long-awaited U.S. bitcoin spot ETF is a rare example of a “buy the rumor, buy the news” event—unlike crypto exchange Coinbase’s Nasdaq listing and the late 2021 arrival of a bitcoin futures ETF, both of which coincided with the bitcoin price’s last bull run peaks.

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I am a journalist with significant experience covering technology, finance, economics, and business around the world. As the founding editor of Verdict.co.uk I reported on how technology is changing business, political trends, and the latest culture and lifestyle. I have covered the rise of bitcoin and cryptocurrency since 2012 and have charted its emergence as a niche technology into the greatest threat to the established financial system the world has ever seen and the most important new technology since the internet itself. I have worked and written for CityAM, the Financial Times, and the New Statesman, amongst others. Follow me on Twitter @billybambrough or email me on billyATbillybambrough.com.
Disclosure: I occasionally hold some small amount of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.