Fidelity renews push for spot Wise Origin BTC Trust, making it 7th applicant this year

cointelegraph.com:

Asset manager Fidelity Investments has filed an application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to a filing by Cboe BZX Exchange with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) dated June 19. 

Fidelity’s application follows BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application on June 15 and those of WisdomTree, Invesco and Valkyrie in the following days. According to Bloomberg, seven applications for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF have been filed this year. Like WisdomTree and Invesco, Fidelity was making a second try at a spot BTC ETF. Similar to other spot BTC ETF applications, this one stated that the CME Bitcoin Futures market “represents a regulated market of significant size as it relates […] to the spot bitcoin market.” It argued the point in detail and cited extensive research to support its view. The 193-page application said:

It went on to mention the bankrupt FTX, Celsius, BlockFi and Voyager Digital as riskier alternatives of the past. It also argued that investors may buy shares in companies such as Tesla and MicroStrategy — that is, unrelated businesses that have significant BTC investments — to gain BTC exposure themselves.

Related: MicroStrategy’s stock price more than doubles in 2023 in lockstep with Bitcoin

Fidelity Digital Assets Services, a regulated custodian licensed by the New York Department of Financial Services, would be responsible for custody of the trust’s BTC. Cboe BZX said it would enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement with a United States-based cryptocurrency exchange.

Michael Saylor: BlackRock, Citadel, & Fidelity Will Send #Bitcoin to $1,000,000 “It looks like a spot ETF will probably get approved. There’s massive political pressure to approve one. The