Representatives from BlackRock, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity held discussions with SEC officials last week regarding the launch of a Bitcoin ETF on the spot market. This information was highlighted by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffarth.
They were attended by employees of the department of trade and markets, as well as the department of corporate finance of the regulator.
“These are the two divisions that will ultimately decide whether and when the 19b-4 and S-1 will be approved or rejected,” Seyffart explained.
His optimism was supported by his colleague Eric Balchunas.
“Damn, the SEC is busier than Santa’s elves. BlackRock's third meeting with them yesterday is the most notable as everyone waits to see if they can convince the Commission to allow the tool in the first round of approvals,” he stressed.
The first such meetings took place in November. According to Reuters, this is a sign that the product is entering the final stage before registration. Seyffart shares a similar point of view
Lawyer Scott Johnson predicted a one-time regulatory approval of all applications for the instrument by January 10, 2024.
Seyffart urged not to be guided by the opinion of the influx of $100 billion into the spot Bitcoin ETF. He noted that today the AUM of “gold” exchange-traded funds is $95 billion and the rise to this figure has been going on since 2004.
“Products receiving such a significant influx of funds would be an extremely rare success story, even if measured over several years,” he explained.
Let us recall that Hashdex analysts predicted the start of trading in spot Bitcoin ETFs in the second quarter of 2024.
