There has been ongoing speculation for months by financial analysts, Wall Street titans, and crypto advocates about the likelihood of the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
If it gets approved, the top cryptocurrency in the world would see investments worth billions of dollars from the traditional finance world.
Now it seems that the top website in the world is also weighing in on the topic and has actively started preparing for that day.
The announcement
Along with other sectors, Google dominates the online advertising industry and it recently announced that it would be making updates to its current prohibitions applicable to crypto ads.
These would be updated to enable the promotion of ‘crypto coin trusts’. The new policy of the company would apply to verified advertisers.
They would be able to promote financial products through which investors would be able to buy and sell shares in trusts that hold large amounts of digital tokens.
The ad update will be put into effect in the coming year from January 29th. According to predictions, the first spot Bitcoin ETF will most likely by approved by the SEC between January 8th and 10th.
The implication
Google has not provided any explanation about what would be included in its definition of crypto ‘trust’ i.e. whether it applies to investment funds, such as exchange-traded products (ETFs).
However, the move does seem to show that the notorious risk-averse tech firm is gearing up for a future where crypto-based financial products will become mainstream and be widely incorporated in the global economy.
The current advertising policies of the tech behemoth do not allow the promotion of products and services that involve the buying, trading, or selling of crypto tokens.
These include initial coin offerings, DeFi protocols, and token liquidity pools. Google does do business with crypto exchanges, but only licensed ones.
They need to be compliant with local laws and also need to have Google certification. In September, Google had also softened its take on NFT game advertisements.
Bitcoin ETF
The launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF would enable traditional finance investors and institutions to get exposure to Bitcoin without requiring them to hold the crypto themselves.
Even though the SEC has rejected such an investment product for years, things changed this year because of the applications submitted.
It also included one of the largest asset managers in the world, BlackRock, which was put forward earlier in the summer.
Many other prominent companies followed suit and submitted their applications for a spot in Bitcoin ETF.
According to analysts, the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would see a staggering $1 trillion amount of capital be infused into the global crypto market.
The rumors of such an event have already pushed up the prices in the crypto market in recent weeks and it is expected to do more when the financial product is finally approved.