By Suzanne McGee and Hannah Lang
       Jan 10 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission (SEC) on Wednesday approved the first U.S.
exchange-traded fund (ETF) that tracks the price of bitcoin, in
a major victory for the digital asset industry which has been
trying for a decade to launch such a product
        Here are key events in the journey to approval: 
  
  
    2008: "Satoshi Nakamoto" introduces the concept of bitcoin
    
    2010: The first retail transaction takes place when a user
pays 10,000 bitcoin for two Papa John's pizzas
    
    2013: As bitcoin's popularity grows, Cameron and Tyler
Winklevoss, co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, file their
first application with the SEC to create a spot bitcoin ETF. 
    Grayscale Investments launches the Bitcoin Investment Trust,
an open-ended private bitcoin trust. 
        
  
        2016: The Winklevoss brothers adjust their application
numerous times, such as the exchange on which the product would
be traded. They also file amendments naming State Street as
administrator. Grayscale files with the SEC to convert its
bitcoin trust into a spot bitcoin ETF.
        
  
    2017: The SEC rejects the Winklevoss application on the
grounds bitcoin markets where not mature enough. Grayscale
withdraws its first attempt to convert its trust into an ETF,
saying the regulatory environment was not developed enough. 
    
    2018: The SEC rejects the Winklevoss twins' second
application to launch a spot bitcoin ETF, saying cryptocurrency
exchanges do not have the necessary controls to prevent
manipulation.
    
    2020: Grayscale transforms its trust into an SEC-reporting
entity, and its shares begin trading on the "pink sheets."
Although not an ETF, it is the first publicly traded bitcoin
fund in the U.S.
        
  
    2021: The first ever spot bitcoin ETF launches in Canada.
Gary Gensler replaces Jay Clayton as SEC Chair in April. 
        In October, the SEC approves the ProShares Bitcoin Trust
         listed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), noting
the CME has a satisfactory mechanism for surveilling abuse in
the futures market. It is the first U.S.-listed futures-based
bitcoin ETF, accumulating $1 billion in assets within its first
days of trading - faster than any other ETF.
        Also in October, Grayscale again submits an application
to the SEC to convert its trust into a spot bitcoin ETF. 
        
  
    2022: The SEC rejects several applications from would-be
spot bitcoin ETF issuers, including SkyBridge, Fidelity and
Bitwise. The SEC also rejects Grayscale's application, prompting
the company to sue the agency. 
    Amid crashing crypto prices, multiple crypto companies file
for bankruptcy, including Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network
and FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried is also charged with
fraud.
    
    2023: 
        May: Cathie Woods' ARK Investments files for a spot
bitcoin ETF, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days to approve or
reject the application.
    June: BlackRock         files a spot bitcoin ETF application
with the SEC, raising industry hopes the agency may approve the
product and sending the price of bitcoin to a one-year high. A
flurry of other issuers, including Fidelity and Invesco, file
bitcoin ETF applications in the subsequent weeks and months. 
    August: A federal appeals court in Washington D.C. rules in
favor of Grayscale, saying the SEC did not justify why it had
rejected its proposal. Europe's first spot bitcoin ETF begins
trading on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange. 
    October: The SEC opts not to appeal the court's ruling in
the Grayscale case and is required to reexamine the application.
    
        2024: 
  
        Jan. 10: The SEC approves 11 proposals from issuers
including BlackRock, Fidelity and VanEck, among others, to
launch spot bitcoin ETFs.
  

    
 (Editing by Michelle Price and Marguerita Choy)