ARK Investment Management, founded by veteran investor Cathie Wood, is reportedly leading the competition for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). In June, investment firm BlackRock submitted an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, sparking optimism in the cry ptocurrency market. However, executives and analysts suggest that ARK may actually be ahead in the race.
According to ARK analyst Yassine Elmandjra, other applicants can amend their applications for similar agreements at little cost. ARK and European asset manager 21Shares filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in April, put ting them ahead of BlackRock . Industry watchers, including Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart, also believe that ARK and 21Shares have an advantage in the spot Bitcoin ETF space.
The next SEC decision date for 21Shares, ARK, and Cboe (Chicago Board Options Exchange) is August 13. 2023. which gives them a head start. BlackRock's filing for the iShares Bitcoin Trust has led to a wave of relaunched Bitcoin ETF applications from other Firms such as Valkyrie, WisdomTree, Invesco, and Bitwise.
The timing of BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF filing has raised eyebrows, with some suggesting that the firm may have inside information about the SEC's Bitcoin ETF policy. However, despite growing optimism, many experts believe that a spot Bitcoin ETF is not likely to appear in the near future.
The SEC has not made significant progress on spot Bitcoin ETFs since the Winklevoss twins applied for one in 2017. Therefore, it is unlikely that the SEC will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023. There is still time for review, and it may take until next year or even the year after to see a spot Bitcoin ETF. ETF Institute co-founder Nate Geraci has even predicted that there will be no spot Bitcoin ETF available worldwide in 2023.
