The wait for approval for an exchange-traded fund (ETF) that trades bitcoin directly, known as a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), may end next Wednesday.
According to a report in Fox Business, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and one of the companies vying to bring a spot Bitcoin ETF to market, expects its application to be approved next Wednesday.
BlackRock is one of several companies that filed updated 19b-4 filings on Friday for its proposed spot bitcoin ETFs, along with Grayscale Investments, Valkyrie, ARK 21Shares and Invesco. The Cboe BZX exchange also filed models for VanEck, WisdomTree, Pando Asset AG and Franklin Templeton last week.
The approval of spot bitcoin ETFs is highly anticipated by crypto proponents, who are betting that the funds could bring billions of dollars in new funding to the cryptocurrency sector. The price of Bitcoin has risen significantly in recent months, indicating market enthusiasm at the prospect of exchange-traded products containing Bitcoin, rather than simply speculation on the price through futures contracts.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency skeptics have argued that bitcoin is too volatile and unregulated to support a healthy market. In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the nonpartisan nonprofit Better Markets, which lobbies for increased financial regulation, said approving spot bitcoin ETFs would be a “regulatory mistake of historic proportions.”
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet that provides news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is the majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures is investing in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is a core program of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to work independently to provide objective, influential and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.