Analysts at financial services firm Cantor Fitzgerald believe the long-awaited spot Bitcoin ( BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) is inching closer to reality.
The company, known for its prime brokerage and investment banking services, has grown confident in the approval of applications from asset managers seeking to launch a spot ETF for Bitcoin, as reported by Bloomberg News.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been hesitant to approve a spot bitcoin ETF due to concerns about potential manipulation on offshore spot platforms.
However, Cantor Fitzgerald believes that the market surveillance procedures proposed by new applicants could address these worries and sway the SEC towards approval.
The firm’s analysts Josh Siegler and Will Carlson emphasized the importance of establishing a “comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size” to appease regulators.
The approval of a spot ETF would have significant short-term implications for the price of bitcoin, according to Cantor Fitzgerald.
They described it as a pivotal moment for the long-term adoption and legitimization of Bitcoin.
The analysts consider the approval of a spot ETF as the most crucial short-term catalyst for the cryptocurrency market.
The SEC has previously rejected several proposals for a spot ETF, citing concerns about the lack of information sharing among exchanges to prevent market manipulation.
However, BlackRock, which submitted its proposal in June, has entered into an agreement with Coinbase to detect and address any irregularities in the market.
Bitcoin Price Surges Amid Optimism Around Spot Bitcoin ETF
The anticipation of a spot ETF approval has led to a surge in Bitcoin’s price in recent weeks.
The cryptocurrency rallied towards $35,000 earlier this month, driven by market speculation surrounding the potential approval of a spot ETF.
Meanwhile, crypto financial services platform Matrixport has predicted a major Bitcoin rally if a spot ETF hits the market.
Comparing this to the precious metals ETFs, which have a market cap of around $120 billion, assuming that 10-20% of precious metal ETF investors consider diversifying into a Bitcoin ETF as a hedge against monetary debasement and inflation, Matrixport said we could witness an inflow of $12 to $24 billion into the Bitcoin ETF.
“If Tether’s market cap increases by $24 billion, acting as a proxy for potential ETF inflows, Bitcoin’s price would rise to $42,000, representing a conservative estimate.”
In another confirmation of the Bitcoin bull market, the leading cryptocurrency’s market dominance has reached 54%, its highest level in more than two and a half years.
The steady increase in Bitcoin dominance, starting from around 38% at the beginning of the year, comes amid its year-long rally, with the flagship cryptocurrency surging by 81% since the start of 2023.
