Starting tomorrow, there’ll be a small window during which the Securities and Exchange Commission could approve 12 pending Bitcoin ETF applications.
That approval could include the BlackRock iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF and the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, according to Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas.
Their rationale: When the SEC gave itself a deadline extension for pending ETF applications, it chose Wednesday, Nov. 8 as the last day for rebuttal comments. It’s also possible that the SEC could approve several between now and Nov. 17, but require all the funds to begin trading on the same day.
“Delay orders were issued by the SEC for BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity & Valkyrie at the same time,” Seyffart wrote on Twitter. “If the agency wants to allow all 12 filers to launch—as we believe—this is the first available window since Grayscale’s court victory was affirmed.”
Delay orders were issued by the SEC for BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity & Valkyrie at the same time. If the agency wants to allow all 12 filers to launch — as we believe — this is the first available window since Grayscale’s court victory was affirmed pic.twitter.com/v5GkbP5IUj
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 8, 2023
A Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, or ETF, would allow investors to gain exposure to the world’s largest cryptocurrency without having to hold the asset themselves. Instead, they could buy shares that would be backed by Bitcoin that’s been bought by the issuer.
Seyffart pointed out another caveat: Even if the SEC approves a rule change that would allow an ETF to trade, that’s totally separate from approving a fund’s registration statement. Both filings would need to be approved before any of the pending Bitcoin ETFs could begin trading.
What Scott said: There are TWO paths that need to be completed for an ETF launch. Even if 19b-4 is approved, S-1s still need sign off from division of Corp Fin. No sign that’s done yet. Possible and even likely that there could be weeks or even months between approval & launch https://t.co/LZSdutmlT8 pic.twitter.com/7OLj5HjSDy
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 8, 2023
Even if it could be months before a Bitcoin ETF is trading, the recent price rally proves investors are optimistic about it. BTC gained over 20% in October, buoyed by the optimism that the long-awaited approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF might finally materialize.
Earlier today, a person familiar with Grayscale’s efforts to convert GBTC to a Bitcoin ETF told Coindesk that the firm’s been actively discussing its application with the SEC.
But a potential spot Bitcoin ETF isn’t just about making the BTC price go to the moon.
Analysts have suggested that a spot Bitcoin ETF could attract between $50 billion to $100 billion in inflows over the next five years, which could cause a significant shift in the asset’s market dynamics. That could be good and bad news for Bitcoiners, some of whom told Decrypt they’d be happy for Wall Street titans not to sit on big piles of their favorite asset.
In the past six weeks alone, crypto funds have attracted $767 million worth of deposits, according to crypto asset manager CoinShares.
