After a hilarious fake-out yesterday, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) *officially* approved 11 Bitcoin ETFs, giving the crypto world a much-needed win. The ETFs will make it easier for ordinary, non-web3 people to invest in the cryptocurrency, opening up the opportunity for broader interest in the digital asset.

On Wednesday, in a thoroughly confusing process and appropriately ass-backward, the SEC uploaded a document to its website announcing the approval of the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. However, the agency then inexplicably deleted the document, making it impossible for most media outlets to verify its decision. A few journalists and crypto stans took screenshots and videos of the document before it disappeared, publishing them to X to prove that the government had approved the funds. A statement from the SEC reported by Reuters confirmed that the ETFs had been approved.

The financial and crypto communities have been on pins and needles for weeks, waiting for the SEC to deliver its verdict. Many expected the government to approve the ETF applications—mainly because a bevy of major financial firms, including Fidelity and Blackrock, have filed to launch them. Now that the government has officially endorsed the funds, there is expected to be much competition to draw in investors.

However, the journey through that approval process presented many exciting bumps. In addition to Wednesday’s weird document flub, the approval process was marred Tuesday by hacking the SEC’s X account. The account compromise allowed an unknown cybercriminal to post a bogus tweet that claimed (prematurely) that the ETFs had been approved. The tweet subsequently sent the price of Bitcoin on a minor rollercoaster ride and led to conspiratorial accusations by the crypto community—many of whom claimed they were victims of a government plot. The SEC and X now say they are investigating the incident to understand what happened.

So, what is an ETF? For those not accustomed to arcane financial terminology (I count myself in that category), you should know that the acronym stands for exchange-traded fund, which usually refers to a bucket of stocks to invest in instead of an individual stock.

The spot Bitcoin ETFs approved by the SEC will hold onto the cryptocurrency rather than stocks and for the price the crypto was acquired at. This means the cost of the ETF will move with the flow of the cost of Bitcoin.

In short, Spot ETFs will allow everyday people to invest in Bitcoin more quickly through their standard brokerage accounts instead of having to do so through the admittedly convoluted processes associated with crypto culture. It will make Bitcoin much more like a regular stock and, thus, more accessible to most people.

Now, a day or so after the bogus ETF approval, the government has officially approved the ETFs—for real, this time. There was much rejoicing online Wednesday as crypto acolytes celebrated the landmark regulatory move. However, the price of Bitcoin dropped to just over $45,200.