June 22 (Cointime) - Several investment giants, including BlackRock, Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree, and Valkyrie, have applied for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities Exchange Commission, leading to renewed optimism for its approval.

This has ignited "The Great Accumulation Race" for Bitcoin, with industry pundits suggesting that institutions and retail investors are buying Bitcoin prior to the ETFs hitting the public market.

Cameron Winklevoss, co-founder of cryptocurrency exchange Gemini, believes that the "floodgates" for buying Bitcoin are closing fast, and MicroStrategy Chair Michael Saylor suggests that retail investors may soon be pushed aside by increasing institutional demand. However, Bitcoin analyst Dylan LeClair predicts that no ETF application will be approved by the SEC until January or February 2024 at the earliest.