Bitcoin Jumps. Traders Anticipate a Crypto ETF Approval

Bitcoin

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and other cryptocurrencies surged Monday on the rising possibility that the Securities and Exchange Commission soon will approve the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. But investors hoping for an immediate nod should be wary—there will be more speed bumps along the road

the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. But investors hoping for an immediate nod should be wary—there will be more speed bumps along the road.

The price of Bitcoin spiked to more than $30,000 on Monday, before fading to about $28,100. That was still about 3.5% above its level 24 hours ago. The jump in price came after a crypto trade publication tweeted that the SEC had approved an application by BlackRock (ticker: BLK) to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. A BlackRock spokeswoman in a statement to Barron’s said its application is still under review, and the publication deleted its tweet and apologized.

That’s because ETF providers including Grayscale, BlackRock, Invesco (IVZ), WisdomTree (WT) and others have technically been seeking a rule change that would allow their products to be listed on an exchange. In addition to that change, the firms must get the SEC’s nod for prospectuses and other documentation that accompany the approval of any ETF, a process that goes through a different SEC department than the one approving the rule change.