Cryptoverse: Next wave of US crypto ETFs already in the pipeline

Jan 10 (Reuters) - What a difference a year makes.

Rewind the clock to early January 2024, and the asset-management industry was anxiously watching to see if the much-anticipated debut of U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds could live up to expectations they would pull in as much as $30 billion in their first year.

Today, those issuers are cracking open the champagne.

That first wave of bitcoin ETFs attracted a whopping $65 billion in 2024, helping to propel the price of bitcoin from $43,000 to more than $100,000. The largest of those new products, BlackRock's (BLK.N), opens new tab iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT.O), opens new tab, has become the most successful debut in the ETF industry's 35-year history.

But that's just the start of the party, cryptocurrency denizens believe.

Shortly after those products celebrate their first anniversary on Jan. 10, President-elect Donald Trump - who has pledged to be a crypto president - will be sworn in for the second time, igniting what cryptocurrency fans believe will be a new golden era for the digital asset class.

Applications for new, and often novel, crypto products are already piling up in regulators' inboxes.

"Everyone is now aware of how much money there is to be made, and with a new, more friendly administration, there's no reason not to go ahead and file your best ideas with regulators," said Joe McCann, founder and CEO of digital assets hedge fund Asymmetric in Miami.

While Gary Gensler, Biden's crypto-skeptic Securities and Exchange Commission chair, was forced to approve the first spot bitcoin ETFs - and similar ethereum products - after losing a court challenge, he continued to warn that cryptos are highly volatile and beset by scams and manipulation.

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