Bitcoin exchange-traded funds or ETFs seem to be very close to being approved by the SEC.
The launch of Bitcoin ETFs is the most anticipated event by the crypto community and Wall Street investors, according to several surveys.
This listed investment instrument will provide investors with a simplified path into the world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC), enhancing Wall Street's penetration into the crypto space and increasing Bitcoin's legitimacy as an emerging alternative investment asset class. For all this, many expect that 2024 will be an extremely interesting year for the development and transformation of the crypto industry.
Michael Saylor, president of MicroStrategy, recently said that the possible approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States represents the greatest development of Wall Street in the last three decades.
Saylor, like several other experts, expect the SEC to approve these Bitcoin exchange-traded investment vehicles by January 10. Below are the latest developments and advances related to this crypto investment instrument.
Exchanges publish 19b-4 filings
The latest amended 19b-4 filings from asset managers including BlackRock, Grayscale and Fidelity seeking SEC approval to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States have been published by stock exchanges in the United States. that these investment funds will be listed, if approved.
The Nasdaq, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) recently published amended filings. BlackRock, Grayscale investments, Fidelity, hashdex y Bitwise.
According to CoinDesk, several people related to the matter said that the publication of these filings by the exchanges does not guarantee that Bitcoin ETFs will be approved by the SEC. However, it represents an important step that is raising the optimism of the crypto community and investors, in general.
SEC warns about FOMO
Through X (formerly Twitter), the SEC has published a warning related to the possible launch of Bitcoin ETFs. He indicated that the possibility of accessing an investment by participating does not mean that it is suitable for all investors, calling not to be carried away by FOMO, which means “fear of missing out.”
The SEC emphasized that the exponential growth of digital assets, such as NFTs and memecoins, can be very attractive and tempting for investors. However, the regulator asks to investigate the projects before deciding whether to participate, without being carried away solely by prices, popularity or the recommendation of a particular person or public figure.
Bitcoin Magazine believes this warning post is directed at Bitcoin ETFs.
“Haven't voted” on Bitcoin ETFs
According to Bloomberg ETF expert Eric Balchunas, the SEC has not and likely will not vote on approving or rejecting Bitcoin ETFs.
Balchunas argued that the US securities regulator has never voted on the denials of spot ETFs that occurred in recent years, nor on the approvals that have been made to futures ETFs since 2021. As he indicated, it is the Delegated Authority of the SEC who makes the decision to approve or reject applications for funds.
On the other hand, Balchunas indicated that, if the SEC decided to vote on spot ETFs, it would have to call a public meeting, which is scheduled for January 11, one day after the maximum date it has to comment on the Ark Invest ETF. “If they voted, they would have had to publicly schedule a meeting. The next one is on the 11th, but that would be too late for the 1/11 release, so it's probably not relevant,” Balchunas said.
In addition to this, Balchunas argued that, should the SEC vote for ETFs, Gary Gensler would have no grounds to reject approvals for these funds. As he indicated, the current president of the SEC was left without arguments after the legal victory that Grayscale obtained in August.
JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs could be Grayscale's APs
Bloomberg just reported that the financial giants JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are in talks with Grayscale Investments, discussing the possibility of becoming authorized participants or APs of their Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
As reported by this outlet, Grayscale had not yet defined the APs of its spot ETF, although it was potentially expected to name Jane Street and Virtu Financial as authorized participants of the GBTC Bitcoin trust, which it wants to transform into a public investment fund.
While the crypto community continues to wait for the SEC's response, the price of Bitcoin once again recovered the level of $44.000 per BTC. At the time of this edition, Bitcoin registered a growth of 4% in the last week, recovering from the fall that was driven by the report published by Matrixport a few days ago, in which it indicated that it was possible that the SEC would end up rejecting all requests for ETF.
Although the securities regulator has not ruled on this matter, experts are still betting that these listed Bitcoin investment vehicles will be approved in the coming days.
Continue reading: What are financial advisors' expectations for the Bitcoin ETF?
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