False Alarm: Misreported ETF Approval Sends Bitcoin, Related Stocks on a Wild Ride

Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) and related stocks soared on Monday morning. The largest cryptocurrency gained as much as 8.4%, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (OTC: GBTC) rose as high as 16.2% and leading Bitcoin miner Marathon Digital Holdings (NASDAQ: MARA) topped out at a 16% gain.

But the big gains didn't last. Bitcoin backed down to a 24-hour gain of 4% at 1:15 p.m. ET. By then, Marathon had cooled down to a 7% price jump and Grayscale's Bitcoin fund was only up by 2.1%. The morning's report of potentially game-changing Bitcoin news turned out to be social media speculation after all.

Early this morning, crypto news outlet Cointelegraph posted some massive Bitcoin news across its social media accounts. According to these posts, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had approved BlackRock's application to introduce an iShares exchange-traded fund (ETF) based on Bitcoin's spot price. Currently, no such financial vehicles are available -- existing Bitcoin funds like the Grayscale trust are either managed in the form of old-school mutual funds or as ETFs referring to the price moves of Bitcoin futures.

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Source Fool.com