Cryptocurrencies: bitcoin and ethereum rise sharply, starting week of possible ETF approval

Bitcoin and ethereum rose sharply this Monday, the 8th, starting a week that could be decisive for the long-awaited approval of bitcoin spot exchange-traded funds (ETF) by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC, in the English acronym). The movement led the main cryptocurrency to rise almost 7%, reaching US$47,000, a level that had not been quoted since April 2023, but the momentum was lost throughout the session.

The SEC faces a deadline this Wednesday to approve or reject the first candidate: a fund managed by a joint venture between Cathie Wood's ARK Investment Management and crypto asset manager 21Shares. The agency previously postponed that decision three times. If the SEC changes its tune, it is expected to approve similar requests from other asset managers at the same time to avoid any favoritism.

Although ETFs are not yet trading, Monday morning brought a slew of company filings listing their planned fees for the first time. The lowest long-term fee is planned by the Bitwise Bitcoin fund, which will charge 0.24% per year. The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF and VanEck Bitcoin ETF will have an expense ratio of 0.25%, while BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Fund has 0.3%. Several providers, including Bitwise, ARK and 21Shares, and Invesco Galaxy said they would completely waive fees for certain periods and for a certain amount of assets under management.

Because many brokerages do not charge commissions, trading bitcoin through ETFs could be effectively free for as long as exemptions last, assuming spreads between bids and offers remain tight. Bitcoin proponents hope the new funds will bring in tens of trillions of dollars from investors who previously didn't have easy access to the cryptocurrency. This could increase the price of the coin and create interest in trading other tokens.

At 5:10 pm (Brasília time), bitcoin rose 5.85%, to US$46,883.49 (R$228,449.17), according to Coinbase. Ethereum, in turn, advanced 4.41%, to US$ 2,351.35 (R$ 11,460.52).

*With information from Dow Jones Newswires.