A rise in Bitcoin ETF applications could be an early sign of the next bull run
economictimes.indiatimes.comBlackRock filed for a spot bitcoin ETF with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It filed its application through the company that manages its family of ETFs — iShares. It set off a trend with several other traditional finance and crypto-heavy financial institutions refiling for spot ETFs.
These included Fidelity, Invesco, Valkyrie Investments, WisdomTree, and VanEck. The new applications differed from earlier ones as they featured a surveillance-sharing clause. Under the surveillance sharing, the fund manager is supposed to share customer identity details related to trading and clearing with the regulators.
The move was aimed at addressing SEC concerns, as reflected in the recent lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase.
However, as per news reports, the SEC found BlackRock’s application missing specific details. Subsequently, BlackRock refiled the application, stating it had appointed Coinbase as its surveillance partner. Ark Invest, which filed for bitcoin ETF with 21Shares in April, amended its application, added the surveillance sharing clause, and appointed Coinbase as the surveillance partner.
A cumulative effect of big traditional finance and crypto-heavy financial institutions took bitcoin prices past $30k, a significant price movement in the dull and bearish crypto market.
While the SEC has rejected all ETF applications so far, the first being filed in 2013 by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, these applications will test the SEC’s resolve following the recent court verdict in the Grayscale Vs. SEC lawsuit brought by Grayscale. The court asked the SEC to review its cancellation of Grayscale’s application, which sought to convert its bitcoin trust into a bitcoin ETF.
