Fund managers are still hopeful the US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) will allow the trading of bitcoin-based exchange traded funds (ETFs) despite a fake social media post that caused chaos on markets Tuesday.That’s because the SEC will decide whether to approve an application to launch the first spot Bitcoin ETFs that would be traded by institutions and retail investors. More than a dozen additional applications are pending.Industry insiders are expecting SEC approval despite a series of scandals that have rocked the broader cryptocurrency industry in recent years.."This shows again why bitcoin is the preferred financial product of criminals worldwide,"Dennis Kelleher, CEO Better Markets.That’s also despite the fact the SEC’s Twitter (“X”) account was hacked Tuesday evening after an unknown party posted that all the applications had been approved.The SEC quickly deleted the post and said it is investigating the incident. Twitter confirmed late yesterday that an “unidentified individual” obtained control of a phone number associated with the account via a third party.But the hack is not expected to derail the application process.Analysts said approval could draw as much as USD$50 billion-$100 billion to the funds and drive the price of Bitcoin to $100,000. On Wednesday, it was hovering near $45,500 — down from $48,000 after the bogus post — but up about 70% in the last year alone.."It's a huge positive for the institutionalization of bitcoin as an asset class," Andrew Bond, managing director and senior fintech analyst at Rosenblatt Securities told Reuters. "The ETF approval will further legitimize bitcoin."Nonetheless, some investor groups are urging the SEC not to allow the Bitcoin funds, citing the inherent risk and even pointing to Tuesday’s social media-storm as an example of how it can be manipulated."This shows again why bitcoin is the preferred financial product of criminals worldwide," said Dennis Kelleher, CEO of Better Markets..But Adam O’Brien, founder of Edmonton-based Bitcoin Well said the whole concept of a Bitcoin ETF defeats the purpose of what owning cryptocurrency is meant to achieve — which is personal autonomy and freedom. That’s because buyers don’t get to physically own their own Bitcoins and are instead playing the speculative value of the asset rather than the asset itself. He called yesterday‘s hack as a “debacle“ of epic proportions. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “It highlights the danger of the ETF and how ridiculous traditional finance is. It’s like buying a car and not owning the wheels.”O’Brien agrees Bitcoin will eventually hit $100,000 — even $1 billion — but not because of any increase in value of Bitcoin. But rather, the devaluation of traditional currencies like the dollar.Bitcoin Well is unique because it allows users to directly hold Bitcoin without the need for third parties or proxies.
