The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve “a handful” of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Wednesday, potentially triggering a flurry of trading this week. On Monday, 10 applicants filed their final amendments, including Blackrock, which also registered its Ishares Bitcoin Trust as collateral.
SEC Expects Spot Bitcoin ETFs to Get Green Light on Wednesday
Monday was full of anticipation in the race for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as 10 candidates filed their final amendments with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), meeting the deadline set by the regulator at 8 a.m. Market expectations for possible approvals pushed BTC to over US$47,000.
As investors eagerly await the SEC's decision on bitcoin spot ETFs, CNBC reported Monday that the securities commission could open its doors to several applicants on Wednesday. Journalist Kate Rooney said
“The Bitcoin ETF is now widely expected to get the green light this week. Two sources close to the process now tell me it looks like Wednesday…The SEC is expected to approve multiple applications at once.”
She noted that Wednesday would also be the deadline for the bitcoin spot ETF offered by Cathie Wood's Ark Invest and 21Shares. If approval is indeed given, “I would be told that potential exchanges would take place on Thursday or Friday,” she added.
Wednesday's forecast also matches Blackrock's expectations. The world's largest asset manager expects the SEC to approve its Ishares Bitcoin Trust on Wednesday. Remarkably, Blackrock also filed Form 8-A on Monday afternoon to officially register the trust as collateral with the SEC. The asset manager has reportedly allocated more than $2 billion for the launch of its bitcoin spot ETF.
Many people believe the SEC will approve bitcoin spot ETFs, including former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton. He said on CNBC on Monday: “I think approval is inevitable, and I think there's nothing left to decide.”
The amendments filed Monday revealed a fee battle between issuers of spot bitcoin ETFs. Crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments has set the highest fees at 1.5%, while Bitwise offers the lowest fees at 0.24% with a 6-month fee waiver on the first billion in assets of the trust. The companies listed in the applications as authorized participants are Jane Street, Virtu, JPMorgan, ABN AMRO, Macquarie, Cantor Fitzgerald and Marex Capital.
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