Several companies have already submitted applications for so-called spot ETFs for Bitcoin (BTC) to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for several years. However, the SEC has not yet approved an ETF of this type. The filing by major asset manager BlackRock raised many new hopes, but it was short-lived, too. Now, decisions on seven different applications, including those from BlackRock, have been delayed.
BlackRock ETF postponed again
On June 29, the US exchange Nasdaq submitted its application for the iShares Bitcoin Trust. The company iShares is the trading name for a collection of Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) from BlackRock, with this fund is said to be a so-called spot ETF. This means that the fund holds “real” bitcoins and tries to track the exact bitcoin price instead of trading bitcoin futures. This sparked high hopes from other ETF issuers, who in turn renewed their applications. There were seven different funds in total.
But last Thursday, the policymaker decided to postpone the final decision on the BlackRock fund. This does not mean that the fund has been rejected, but that the approval or rejection will only take place at a later date. The deadline now ends on October 17th, i.e. 45 days after the deadline of the original application. Unfortunately, decisions for the other six funds have also been delayed, according to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas.
And now, bit by bit, only YOU KNOW WHO remains pic.twitter.com/cX8VIz78ql
— Eric Balchunas (@Eric Balchunas) August 31, 2023
The chance of a Bitcoin ETF being approved is increasing
The delay is notable because earlier this week it was announced that Grayscale had won its lawsuit with the SEC. That lawsuit concerned the SEC’s refusal to convert Grayscale’s largest Bitcoin fund, GBTC, into a spot ETF. Now that the company has won the lawsuit, the SEC must reconsider the filings. That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll be approved, but according to analysts, it does increase the chance.
There are also positive signs on the Bitcoin blockchain. According to a study by Bitfinex, loyal HODLers have primarily bought additional coins since last March. And the number of BTC on exchanges hasn’t been as low as it is now in a number of years.