UPDATE - US regulator approves spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds

ADDS BACKGROUND, PRICES OF BITCOIN AND CRYPTOCURRENCIES

By Ovunc Kutlu

ISTANBUL (AA) - The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, also known as ETFs.

The much-awaited decision will allow investors to trade Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, which is a highly volatile market.

The price of Bitcoin, the world's biggest cryptocurrency, has been fluctuating wildly in recent days due to fake posts from the SEC’s official account on X.

The account was compromised on Tuesday, leading to an unauthorized post which said that spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved.

The regulator later said it had not yet granted approval of the funds.

The move will pave the way for financial firms to invest in Bitcoin without owning and holding it. However, not all companies' applications are approved, while only a dozen are in the process of a launch.

Yet approval of the ETFs was welcomed by crypto enthusiasts.

The price of Bitcoin was trading around $45,811 at 5.14 p.m. EDT for a daily gain of 1% -- its highest level since April 2022.

The total value of the cryptocurrency market was up 1.1% at $1.72 trillion at the time, according to data from CoinMarketCap, a digital asset price-tracking website.