(London) Speculation on a possible historic decision by the American market policeman, the SEC, around a new investment in bitcoins, expected on Wednesday, is causing the price of this cryptocurrency to oscillate between hopes of the sector and premature excitement.
The American market regulatory authority (SEC) has until Wednesday included to decide on a possible authorization to market this new investment product, by rendering its decision on the oldest request currently under investigation, that of investment companies 21Shares and Ark Invest.
On Tuesday, the price of the digital asset briefly soared, close to $48,000, as investors got excited following the publication of a false message on the official SEC account.
But the enthusiasm was only short-lived: the authority’s X account had in fact been hacked, a spokesperson for the Wall Street policeman confirmed to AFP.
As a result, the price of bitcoin collapsed by almost 6%, threatening to fall back below $45,000.
Around 6:45 a.m. Wednesday, bitcoin was trading 0.60% higher at $45,702.
This runaway episode “helped provide an overview of the consequences on prices” in the event of a green light, according to Forex.com analyst Matthew Weller, with the sector seeing it as “an important step towards the introduction of a new wave of hedge funds into an asset whose supply is inherently limited.”
Over the last twelve months, the price of the leading cryptocurrency by capitalization has climbed by more than 150%, driven by speculation around the creation of a new investment product, a bitcoin index fund (ETF) which would follow directly the price of the digital asset.
According to analysts, this type of investment would allow a larger part of the general public to invest in this cryptocurrency without having to hold it directly.
If it takes place, its approval could “attract a significant amount of capital into the sector and should have a potentially massive impact on valuations across the sector” of cryptocurrencies, adds Ipek Ozkardeskaya, analyst at Swissquote.
