The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had set a deadline for spot Bitcoin ETF applicants to submit their amended filings by Friday to be considered in the first wave of decisions in January.
Prominent asset managers, including Fidelity, Wisdomtree, BlackRock, and Bitwise, had all submitted their amended filings before the deadline ended.
According to reports, the securities regulator wants the exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants to name the authorized participants in the filings.
The race is on
The applicants were rushing to meet the deadline set by the SEC for submitting their registration statement (S-1) updates.
Any applicant who wanted to be considered in the first wave of spot Bitcoin ETF decisions in January was required to submit their filings.
Other than the companies mentioned above, updated documents were also submitted by Valkyrie, 21shares and Ark Investments joint filing, Vaneck, and Galaxy/Invesco.
Authorized participants are the financial institutions that manage the creation and redemption of ETF shares in the market and the SEC has asked the applicants to name them in the filing.
BlackRock was the first one to have named its authorized participants, even before it had been required, which shows that the world’s largest asset manager is more than ready to launch its spot Bitcoin ETF.
The applicants
Valkyrie followed suit and also named two authorized participants, Cantor Fitzgerald and Jane Street. Bitwise had not disclosed its authorized participants.
Meanwhile, Fidelity had mentioned its fee in its S-1 filing, which had been set at S-1, and also emphasized that it is currently the lowest fee.
As far as its authorized participant is concerned, the financial services giant opted for Jane Street. Wisdomtree is also named the same.
Invesco/Galaxy also named its authorized participants, which were JPMorgan and Virtu and it also announced that for the first six months and the first $5 billion in assets, it would waive its fee.
The issues
However, it is also important to note that the authorized participants’ aspect could make things tricky for the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants.
It could prevent some of these applicants from getting approval because the SEC does not just want these APs named in the documents.
The securities regulator wants the authorized participants to also underwrite the ETF, which could make them nervous.
This is because there would be risk involved and the lawsuits that might happen are also a concern because the asset class would be new.
If the SEC does approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in January, it would certainly be a pivotal moment for the crypto industry.
For a decade, the securities regulator has been turning down applications due to the risks involved, but the tide is changing.
The deadline for the SEC to respond to the applications submitted for a spot Bitcoin ETF is on January 10th and many expect the regulator to approve at least some of them.