Spot BTC ETF approval ‘biggest development on Wall Street,’ MicroStrategy co-founder says

Renowned Bitcoin advocate and MicroStrategy co-founder Michael Saylor has said the potential approval of spot BTC exchange-traded funds or ETFs could be the most groundbreaking development on Wall Street since the 1990s.

Saylor believes that a spot Bitcoin ETF approval would offer a vital opportunity for institutional and retail investors who have been hindered by compliance and regulatory constraints to access crypto. In his words, it would create an essential pathway for those lacking a “high bandwidth compliant channel” to invest in Bitcoin.

“It’s not unreasonable to suggest that this may be the biggest development on Wall Street in 30 years.”

Michael Saylor, Bitcoin advocate and MicroStrategy co-founder.

“The last thing that was this consequential was the creation of the S&P index and the ability to invest in all 500 S&P companies via one trade at the same time.”

So far, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) officials have conducted 24 meetings with spot ETF applicants, indicating an increased possibility of approval before the deadline on January 10, 2024.

The approval deadline comes just a few months ahead of a “halving” for Bitcoin in the second quarter. The event cuts the reward for mining Bitcoin transactions in half to decrease the number of new Bitcoins entering circulation. With the approval potentially creating a supply shock and the SEC’s approval creating a demand shock, Saylor believes that Bitcoin would see a dramatic surge in value.

Bitcoin stands out as a relatively secure digital asset compared to its more volatile counterparts. The token is supported by the regulatory environment, including the recently passed rules by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Since 2020, MicroStrategy has steadily acquired Bitcoin. To date, the firm has amassed 174,530 units under Saylor’s leadership, including a recent purchase of 16,130 BTC on November 30, as reported by Buy Bitcoin Worldwide.

Potential price surge

Despite Bitcoin’s recent price surges, a substantial portion of global capital still resides in traditional assets like bonds, stocks, real estate and precious metals. Meanwhile, the token’s adoption remains low at around one percent. Saylor predicts a substantial change as education about digital assets increases, leading to a larger allocation of capital toward Bitcoin.

Saylor wasn’t always optimistic about Bitcoin. In December 2013, when Bitcoin was priced at $677, he predicted that the token would flop.

“Bitcoin days are numbered,” he said at that time. “It seems like just a matter of time before it suffers the same fate as online gambling.”

Later, by mid-2020, Bitcoin had surged almost eighteen times. MicroStrategy then entered the market on August 11 that year, making an initial purchase of around $11,650.

As per CoinMarketCap’s data at the time of writing, Bitcoin is priced at $43,000, reflecting a four percent increase from the previous day. It has risen approximately 13 percent in value over the past month and 56 percent compared to October.

Continuing his bullish outlook, Saylor claimed that unless Bitcoin’s value heads to zero, it holds the potential to reach a valuation of $1 million. He stressed that the current allocations from various institutions to Bitcoin are minimal compared to its potential as a legitimate institutional asset.