The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, ending a decade-long effort by asset managers to bring cryptocurrency to mainstream investors. The decision allows funds from BlackRock, Fidelity, and other major firms to hold Bitcoin directly.

The approval is expected to channel billions of dollars into Bitcoin from retirement accounts, wealth managers, and institutional investors who previously found cryptocurrency too operationally complex or risky. Bitcoin's price surged on the news.

"This is a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry," said BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, who once dismissed Bitcoin as an "index of money laundering."