ARK Investment Management, a pro-Bitcoin (BTC) firm founded by veteran investor Cathie Wood, is reportedly ahead in the race for a spot BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In mid-June, the investment firm BlackRock filed an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, triggering notable optimism in cryptocurrency markets.
Several reports suggested that BlackRock could become the first issuer of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States should it receive approval, but that might not be the case, according to some executives and analysts.
“Other applicants will be able to amend their filings with similar agreements at little cost,” ARK analyst Yassine Elmandjra reportedly wrote.
Elmandjra stressed that ARK and the European asset manager 21Shares filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Bitcoin ETF in April. “That now is the only one ahead of BlackRock’s,” he added.
More industry observers, including Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart, also argued that ARK and 21Shares should be ahead of anyone for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
“21Shares, ARK and Cboe are first in line because their next SEC decision date is Aug. 13, 2023, and we don’t yet have a date for the other 19b-4 applications like the one from BlackRock,” Seyffart stated.
BlackRock’s filing for the iShares Bitcoin Trust has triggered a wave of reactivated Bitcoin ETF filings. Companies like crypto fund manager Valkyrie, WisdomTree and Invesco shortly re-filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with Bitwise also reportedly trying once again for a BTC ETF.
“And our bull case for spot bitcoin ETF approval can basically be summed up in four words: ‘What does BlackRock know?” Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on Twitter. ETF Institute co-founder Nate Geraci took to Twitter on June 26 to express similar sentiments.
Many industry observers have highlighted timing for BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF filing, with some allegeding that the firm could have insider information about the SEC’s BTC ETF policies.
New t-shirt drop via @EricBalchunas…
I will say, seems hard to believe this is all coincidence:
BlackRock files for spot btc ETF
4 other issuers quickly follow suit
EDX crypto exchange launches (backed by Fidelity, Schwab, etc)
2X leveraged btc futures ETF allowed by SEC pic.twitter.com/5CfG7ThcLg
— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) June 26, 2023
Despite growing optimism over potential arrival of a spot Bitcoin ETF to the U.S. market, many experts believe that such products are not coming in the near future.
The SEC is unlikely to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023 as it hasn’t progressed much since Winklevoss twins filed for one back in 2017, Wilshire Phoenix’s partner Wade Guenther told Cointelegraph.
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“There really hasn’t been a lot of development since the first time many of these sponsors filed their initial spot Bitcoin ETFs,” Guenther said, adding:
“We don’t believe that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be available to the public anytime soon because there’s still a certain amount of time for review. So it could be not until next year, potentially the year after that we could see a spot Bitcoin ETF.”
Previously, ETF Institute co-founder Geraci predicted that the world would not see a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023.
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