Optimism regarding a Bitcoin ETF is not as widespread in mainstream financial circles as it is within the online crypto community, as per recent survey results published by Bitwise. The crypto index fund provider, currently awaiting approval for its own Bitcoin ETF application, revealed that only 39% of the investment advisors surveyed believe an ETF will be approved in 2024.

The survey was conducted between October 20 and December 18, a period of significant price appreciation for Bitcoin amid confidence that an ETF approval was imminent. This followed major events indicating that regulators might change their previously hostile stance against spot ETFs, including a June ETF application from BlackRock and an August court victory for Grayscale over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). By the time the survey began, the SEC had already exhausted all remaining time to appeal its court loss, compelling the agency to re-examine ETF applications more favorably.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas responded to the survey by suggesting that most boomer advisors are not spending excessive amounts of time online. Balchunas and fellow analyst James Seyffart maintain that Bitcoin ETF applicants have a 90% chance of receiving approval between January 8 and 10, given the SEC’s extensive and constructive dialogue with applicants over the past two months. Some reports suggest that issuers could receive notifications of approval as early as Friday before beginning to trade early next week. Balchunas also stated on Thursday that the SEC is currently giving final comments and that approvals are as close to “done” as they’ve ever been.

Several asset managers have subtly hinted that approvals are imminent this week. SkyBridge Capital founder Anthony Scaramucci tweeted, “It’s done” on Thursday, while Grayscale’s chief legal officer said he was “just filling out some forms.”

Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan interpreted the investment advisors’ lack of faith in approvals as a bullish sign, indicating that the event is not yet “priced in” to Bitcoin. He stated, “There’s a massive gap in expectations between advisors and those who monitor ETF developments for a living. Couple that with the fact that almost 90% of advisors say they’re waiting for an ETF before making a bitcoin investment, and you see a lot of demand bubbling just below the surface.”

Bitwise’s survey also discovered that only 19% of advisors can buy crypto in client accounts, despite 88% of advisors being questioned by clients about crypto last year. The survey also found that 71% of advisors favor Bitcoin over Ethereum, a significant increase from the previous year (53%).

This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)

Information	Details
Geography	Global
Countries
Sentiment	neutral
Relevance Score	1
People	Eric Balchunas, Matt Hougan, Anthony Scaramucci, James Seyffart
Companies	Bitwise, BlackRock, SkyBridge Capital, Grayscale, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Currencies	Bitcoin, Ethereum
Securities	None