The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has initiated the process of accepting filings from exchanges for spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), signaling a potential green light for these listings. On January 5, a slew of asset management firms, including BlackRock, Valkyrie, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, and WisdomTree, submitted Amendment 19b-4 applications for their respective spot BTC ETFs.
These filings represent a critical step in the SEC's approval process. However, the completion of the S-1 filing is a prerequisite for U.S. exchanges to start listing investment securities that have direct exposure to cryptocurrencies. This stage of the process has spurred speculation among some industry experts that the SEC might grant final approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF shortly, possibly before the January 10 deadline for the launch of ARK Invest and 21Shares' ETF.
The potential approval of these ETFs could have significant implications for the adoption of cryptocurrencies both in the United States and worldwide. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas expressed optimism about the SEC's imminent approval in an article, stating, "Yes, it's basically done. I heard recently (from multiple sources) that the final S-1 is due on Monday at 8 am as the SEC is working to get everyone ready for the January 11th launch."
Despite this optimism, revealed a more cautious stance among U.S. financial advisors. According to a survey conducted by ETF issuer Bitwise, only 39% of financial advisors in the U.S. believe a Bitcoin ETF will receive approval this year. The survey included a diverse group of participants, such as registered investment advisors, financial planners, institutional investors, and wire company representatives.
When these financial experts were asked to predict when they think a spot Bitcoin ETF might receive approval, just 39% responded with “2024.” This indicates a significant level of uncertainty and lack of consensus among professionals about the timing of such a regulatory milestone.
