SEC, bitcoin ETF hopefuls hammer out ‘key details:’ Reuters

A new Reuters report claims that applicants and the SEC continue to work out spot bitcoin ETF details

December 7, 2023 10:03 am

Artwork by Crystal Le

Spot bitcoin ETFs could be just around the corner.

A new Reuters report said that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is working with asset managers to hammer out “key technical details.”

21Shares president Ophelia Snyder said in an interview in late November that the regulator engagement felt different and that the applicants are in a “pattern break.” Together, 21Shares and Ark form one of 13 spot bitcoin ETF applicants.

The SEC has been engaging with the firms on various details in the applications from the surveillance-sharing agreement — of which many applicants named Coinbase. The majority of the applicants also tapped Coinbase as a custodian.

Amendments to applications have steadily poured in, even as the SEC continues to delay its decision on the ETF hopefuls.

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ETF experts, including Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas and Van Buren Capital’s Scott Johnsson, noted that the amendments are a “good sign.”

Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart believes that — if the SEC is looking to approve the applications — a slew of acceptances could take place between Jan. 8 and Jan. 10. Ark and 21Shares bitcoin ETF proposal has a Jan. 10 deadline.

The approvals could even be “lined up” so that the SEC greenlights multiple applications at once. A phenomenon that Balchunas dubbed the “Bitcointucky Derby.”

“What [people] don’t realize is there’s never in ETF history been a case where multiple products that basically do the same thing have launched on same day,” Balchunas said in a post on X.

Bloomberg Intelligence analysts believe that the odds of approval by Jan. 10 are roughly 90%.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood is also feeling optimistic about the bitcoin ETFs.

“I think the fact we’re seeing very material differences in this round of the spot process versus prior rounds is a very promising indication of a different outcome,” Wood said on a webinar Wednesday.

Aside from Ark and 21Shares, BlackRock, Franklin Templeton, WisdomTree and VanEck have also thrown their hats in the ring. Pando Asset, a Swiss-based asset manager, rounded the applications up to 13 when it filed for a spot bitcoin ETF at the end of November.

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