Investors taking positions against the rising Bitcoin (BTC) price have reached a critical point as the U.S. is nearing a decision on its first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to announce its decision on spot ETFs by January 11, while some Bitcoin investors have lost over $150 million in the last 24 hours.
Recent Bitcoin Surge Hits Short-Selling Investors Hard
Bitcoin’s surge to over $47,000 on the first day of the week, with an increase of up to 9%, particularly hit investors who were short selling, or in other words, holding short positions. Investors on the OKX exchange bore the most significant loss of $84 million, followed by Binance with a total loss of $71 million.
The number of open interest or unsettled futures contracts increased by over 8% in the last 24 hours. This increase indicates that investors continue to take positions expecting high volatility to continue after significant liquidations.
As is known, liquidation means the forced closure of an investor’s leveraged position by an exchange as a result of the investor partially or completely losing their initial margin. This occurs when an investor fails to meet the margin requirements for a leveraged position (not having sufficient funds to keep the trade open). Large liquidations can signal the local peak or trough of a sharp price movement, allowing investors to position themselves accordingly.
All Eyes on SEC’s Decision Regarding Spot Bitcoin ETFs
The significant rise on January 8th occurred as Bitcoin ETF issuers from BlackRock to Grayscale presented their management fees to the SEC. This led to speculation that the launch of the U.S.’s first spot Bitcoin ETF is now close to a happy conclusion.
The crypto world is currently awaiting the SEC’s decision on 13 spot Bitcoin ETFs, and the battle among issuers is already heating up. Some issuers have gone as far as not to charge any management fees for the first six months or for assets under management (AUM) of $5 billion.
The final decision on approvals or rejections is expected to be announced on January 10th. Sources close to the matter have indicated that SEC officials have brought additional comments on the S-1 filings of the applicant companies, which could signal a “postponement,” causing confusion, but the final decision is still expected to be announced within two days with a 90% probability.
