The US Securities and Exchange Commission announced on Wednesday its approval of the country's first spot-trading of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The regulator approved 11 ETFs, including Grayscale, Bitwise and Hashdex, according to a notice on its website.
It also approved ETFs from BlackRock, Fidelity, ARK Invest, Invesco and others.
Trading in the Bitcoin ETFs could begin as soon as Thursday morning, allowing everyday investors to financially benefit from the Bitcoin cryptocurrency without directly holding it.
"We did not approve or endorse Bitcoin," SEC chairman Gary Gensler said in a statement.
"Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto."
The approval is a dramatic shift for the SEC, which for years has rejected applications due to fears over market manipulation.
Those fears were reignited on Tuesday night when the SEC said its X account was compromised after a post saying that it had approved Bitcoin ETFs.
The unauthorised post was later taken down, but not before the price of Bitcoin rose by more than 2.5 per cent.
Bitcoin was valued at $44,877.50 as of Wednesday morning ET.
The SEC will have to investigate itself for market manipulation after the hacked post, Fox Business reported.
The US regulator's approval of Bitcoin ETFs would allow people to buy the cryptocurrency without using a crypto exchange or broker, making it easier for traders to invest in the digital token.
Mr Gensler has made repeated warnings on the risks of investing in cryptocurrency, which he has likened to “the Wild West”.
“Fraudsters continue to exploit the rising popularity of crypto assets to lure retail investors into scams," he said.
Mr Gensler said that these investments continue to be replete with fraud or bogus coin offerings, Ponzi and pyramid schemes, and "outright theft", where a project promoter disappears with investors’ money.
He also warned that investing in cryptocurrency “can be exceptionally risky”, noting platforms that have lost value.
US President Joe Biden's administration launched a crypto framework in 2022 for the SEC and Commodities Futures Trading Commission to investigate and enforce action against unlawful deeds in the digital assets market.
Since then, the SEC has targeted major crypto exchange platforms, Coinbase and Binance.
In separate filings, the US regulator accused the two of operating unregistered exchanges, among other claims.
Binance founder Changpeng Zhao in November pleaded guilty to failing to implement an effective anti-money laundering programme.
The Justice Department said Binance also agreed to pay $4.3 billion in penalties.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
Best Coach: Jurgen Klopp (Liverpool)
Best Goalkeeper: Alisson Becker
Best Men’s Player: Cristiano Ronaldo
Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
Kooora – Best Arab Player: Abderrazak Hamdallah (Al-Nassr FC, Saudi Arabia)
Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Ibrahim's play list
Completed an electrical diploma at the Adnoc Technical Institute
Works as a public relations officer with Adnoc
Apart from the piano, he plays the accordion, oud and guitar
His favourite composer is Johann Sebastian Bach
Also enjoys listening to Mozart
Likes all genres of music including Arabic music and jazz
Enjoys rock groups Scorpions and Metallica
Other musicians he likes are Syrian-American pianist Malek Jandali and Lebanese oud player Rabih Abou Khalil
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
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Racecard
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Mobile phone packages comparison
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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3.
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UAE
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
