In this episode, let's talk about why Bitcoin spot ETFs are so important to the market. Throughout the development of Bitcoin, buying power is increasingly concentrated in North America, mainly in the United States, and when Wall Street institutions are willing to rush into the market, Bitcoin prices can achieve a large increase.
Because the essence of the market is the game between opponents.
With the recent entry of Wall Street heavyweights such as BlackRock and Fidelity, the early listing of Bitcoin ETF spot is particularly important in this context.
It can be said that the biggest charm of Bitcoin spot ETF is that it provides a safer investment channel for "old money". It does not need to hold Bitcoin itself, but only holds shares of BTC value changes through ETF, which can better grasp real-time price fluctuations and does not need to master the complex operations of digital wallets or decentralized exchanges.
Therefore, the road for asset management institutions to go public in the United States can be described as a series of repeated failures. The applications of 22 institutions have been rejected by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
So far, eight institutions, including existing asset management giants BlackRock and Fidelity, have submitted applications to the SEC. Below I have listed some detailed lists for your reference, including application name, listing exchange, custodian, application time and past historical applications:
BlackRock
Name: iShares Bitcoin Trust
Exchange: Nasdaq
Bitcoin Custodian: Coinbase
Cash custodian: Bank of New York Mellon
Application deadline: June 29, 2023
Application history: None
Fidelity
Name: Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust
Exchange: Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe BZX
Bitcoin Custodian: Fidelity
Application deadline: June 30
Historical application: Application was submitted in May 2021 and was rejected in February 2022.
ArkInvest
Name: ARK21 Shares Bitcoin
Exchange: Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe BZX
Bitcoin Custodian: Coinbase
Cash custodian: Bank of New York Mellon
Application deadline: April 25, 2023
Historical applications: Two applications were submitted and rejected in 2021 and 2022 respectively.
Invesco
Name: Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin
Exchange: Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe BZX
Custodian: No clear information yet
Application deadline: June 30, 2023
Historical situation: The application was submitted in September 2021 and withdrawn in the same year.
WisdomTree
Name: Wisdom Tree Bitcoin Trust
Exchange: Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe BZX
Custodian: U.S. Bank National Association
Application deadline: June 30, 2023
Historical applications: Two applications were rejected in March 2021 and January 2022.
VanEck
Name: VanEck Bitcoin Trust
Exchange: Chicago Board Options Exchange Cboe BZX
Manager: The State Street Bank
Bitcoin custodian: no clear information yet
Application deadline: June 30, 2023
Historical application status: The application was submitted in June 2018 and withdrawn in September 2019. Then the applications were submitted in March 2021 and June 2022, both of which were rejected.
Bitwise
Name: Bitwise Bitcoin ETPTrust
Exchange: NYSE Arca
Trustee: Delaware Trust Company
Bitcoin custodian: no clear information yet
Application deadline: June 28, 2023
Historical application: Application submitted in October 2021 and rejected in June 2022.
Valkyrie
Name: Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund
Exchange: Nasdaq
Trustee: Delaware Trust Company
Bitcoin custodian: no clear information yet
Application deadline: July 3, 2023
Historical application: Application submitted in April 2021 and rejected in December 2021.
***All the above information comes from SEC
The SEC's approval cycle for Bitcoin spot ETF applications is up to 240 days, with three public responses in between. Before making a final decision (approval or rejection), the SEC has the right to approve or reject the application at any time during the resolution process. Taking BlackRock as an example, it submitted an application in June 2023, and it is expected that March 15, 2024 will be the final date that the SEC must respond.
The reason why there were so many obstacles in the process of approving spot ETFs in the past was actually due to Bitcoin's inherent high volatility and market manipulation, which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had been holding on to as an excuse for not wanting to pass.
However, it is generally believed that the Bitcoin spot ETF application has a high probability of being approved. The main reason is that all applications this time generally add a surveillance sharing agreement (SSA).
SSA stands for Surveillance-Sharing Agreement, which is an agreement between cryptocurrency exchanges and market regulators. The agreement allows both parties to share transaction data and information to monitor transactions.
Once suspicious transaction data or information appears, this information will be pushed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), ETF issuers and exchanges at the same time.
That is to say, if the Bitcoin spot ETF of super seed player BlackRock is approved, the ETF applications submitted by other institutions will also be approved.
But it is almost certain that the listing of Bitcoin spot ETF will not be smooth sailing, and it will most likely be postponed until the 2024 US "election year" before it will be approved. As for the reasons, it not only covers the time of the introduction of the US crypto market supervision bill, but also involves the issuance of US debt and the stability of the US stock market. #BTC
