(Bloomberg) -- A host of new institutional investors including pension funds and registered investment adviser-based vehicles will flock to Bitcoin assets if US regulators approve the first-ever spot exchange-traded fund for the cryptocurrency, according to CBOE Digital’s president. 

“Seeing that approval is going to pave the way for pension funds and RIA-based funds to be able invest in assets in a spot Bitcoin ETF where they may not be able to gain that access today in just a native, spot Bitcoin token,” John Palmer said in an interview on Bloomberg TV. 

Earlier on Tuesday, Bitcoin surpassed $45,000 for the first time in nearly two years ahead of a Jan. 10 deadline for the US Securities and Exchange Commission to decide whether to approve a spot ETF Bitcoin. Multiple applicants, including BlackRock Inc. and Fidelity, submitted amended filings last week as the deadline draws closer. 

Palmer also expects Bitcoin derivative products to expand with the potential arrival of a spot ETF. Institutional players will “lean on those derivatives more and more” to hedge risks, he said. 

CBOE Digital, which was created after CBOE’s acquisition of ErisX in 2022, offers spot and futures crypto trading for select tokens. It plans to launch margined Bitcoin and Ether futures on Jan. 11, which will allow clients to trade futures without posting the full collateral up front.

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