The U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday approved the first U.S.-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin, in a watershed for the world’s largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry, Reuters reports.
The Securities and Exchange Commission said it approved 11 applications, including from BlackRock, Ark Investments/21Shares, Fidelity, Invesco and VanEck, despite warnings from some officials and investor advocates that the products carried risks.
Most of the products are expected to begin trading Thursday, issuers said, kicking off a fierce competition for market share.
A decade in the making, the ETFs are a game-changer for bitcoin, offering investors exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without directly holding it. They provide a major boost for a crypto industry beset by scandals.
