In a groundbreaking move, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday gave the green light to applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, a decision anticipated to transform both the cryptocurrency and conventional finance industries, and one that comes as Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) recently celebrated its 15^th anniversary.

The anticipation of the SEC’s approval was among the contributing factors that have helped boost the price of Bitcoin by over 150% in the last year.

Here’s a look at how much an investment in the leading cryptocurrency would be worth today, based on a key date in history.

What Happened: Investors are celebrating the approval of Bitcoin ETFs after a federal court ruled against the SEC in 2023 and directed the regulatory agency to review the application from Grayscale Investments to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (CRYPTO:GBTC) into an ETF.

On Wednesday, the SEC approved applications of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF, the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF, BlackRock Inc‘s (NYSE:BLK) iShares Bitcoin Trust, the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund, the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, the WisdomTree Bitcoin Fund, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund and the Franklin Bitcoin ETF.

Before the approved Bitcoin ETFs were filed, or the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust was launched in September 2013, there was an S-1 filed for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.

On July 1, 2013, Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust as a planned Bitcoin ETF. The Winklevoss twins saw their initial filing and a second attempt rejected in 2018.

Cameron Winklevoss commented on the status of Bitcoin ETFs on the 10-year anniversary of the filing, which happened several months ago, saying: “The SEC’s refusal to approve these products for a decade has been a complete and utter disaster for US investors and demonstrates how the SEC is a failed regulator.”

Winklevoss accused the SEC of helping to push investors into FTX, which eventually went bankrupt and was “one of the largest financial frauds in modern history.”

The Gemini co-founder wished luck to all the companies fighting to bring Bitcoin ETFs to market.

On Wednesday, ahead of the Bitcoin ETFs’ approval, Cameron Winklevoss took to Twitter to shared on the optimism of Bitcoin ETFs.

“Today is 3,845 days in the making. Happy Bitcoin ETF Approval Day!” Winklevoss tweeted.

Here’s a look back at investing in Bitcoin when the Winklevoss brothers filed for the first ETF launch.

Related Link: Exclusive – Why Does Cathie Wood Think Bitcoin Is Going To $1 Million? 

Investing $1,000 in BTC: Bitcoin hit all-time highs of nearly $69,000 in November 2021 and has traded above $10,000 for many years. It may be surprising to some that Bitcoin traded below $100 during parts of 2012 and that year marked the first time the leading cryptocurrency hit the $1,000 level.

On July 1, 2013, Bitcoin traded for around $90.80. A $1,000 investment in Bitcoin could have purchased 11.0132 BTC at the time.

Based on a price of $47,316.45 at the time of publication, the $1,000 investment would be worth $521,105.52 today. This represents a hypothetical return of over 52,000% over the last 10 years.

Over the past decade, Bitcoin has delivered stronger returns than leading stocks and has outpaced the overall stock market.

For Comparison

• A $1,000 investment in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY), which tracks the S&P 500, would be worth $3,567.60 today. This represents a gain of 256.8% over the last 10 years.
• A $1,000 investment in Tesla Inc over the same time period would be worth $30,031.78 today. This represents a hypothetical return of 2,903.4% over the last 10 years.
• A $1,000 investment in Apple Inc over the same time period would be worth $14,608.44 today. This represents a hypothetical return of 1,360.8% over the last 10 years.

While Bitcoin may not beat the market and leading stocks by the same amounts over the next decade, there is increased optimism that the approval of Bitcoin ETFs and another Bitcoin halving in 2024 could be catalysts to propel the price higher.

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