In 2024, the crypto market is going to be dancing to the tune of the response to the spot Bitcoin ETF approval. The January 10 deadline will either act as a bullish catalyst to Bitcoin price and other crypto assets or result in an unprecedented crash. However, who will command this price action will depend on who makes the cut before the new year.

Spot Bitcoin ETF gets new deadline

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently held a meeting with representatives of seven of the 12 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) applicants. During this meeting, the regulatory body notified at least two of the seven issuers to submit the updated filings before the end of 2023.

The SEC stated that the companies that miss submitting the final updates to their spot BTC ETF applications by December 29 could potentially miss the spot in the first wave of approvals expected by January 10.

While the representatives of the seven companies included executives from BlackRock, Grayscale, ARK Invest and 21Shares, among others, it is not clear who the deadline applies to. Thus, by the next 72 hours, when asset managers will be on track to receive their approved spot, BTC ETF filings will be revealed before the end of the year.

Bitcoin price remains dormant

Bitcoin price, at the time of writing, could be seen trading at $43,530, moving sideways for the past week, failing to breach the $44,000 resistance level. This price point marks the year-to-date high, and breaching it would be a short-term bullish catalyst for the cryptocurrency.

However, looking at the price indicators, the potential of nothing happening is more likely. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) and Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) indicators are exhibiting mild bearishness in the market.

This suggests that until the spot BTC ETF approval date nears, the cryptocurrency will probably continue treading sideways, under the $44,000 psychological level.

(Click on image to enlarge)

BTC/USD 1-day chart

But if there is some update by December 29 regarding which applications will likely be approved by January 10, the market could rally with certainty, changing the trend to bullish from neutral and sending Bitcoin price beyond $44,000.

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