Bitwise and BlackRock Amend Submissions in Effort for First US Spot Bitcoin ETF

By: Eva Baxter

Asset management firms, Bitwise and BlackRock have updated their filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as part of a bid to launch the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Both companies submitted amendments to their S-1 registration forms on December 4th, adding to the at least ten asset management firms planning to offer a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Bloomberg ETF analyst, Eric Balchunas suggests that even more updated S-1 filings are expected in the coming week. He anticipates that these filings will address matters discussed in recent conversations between the SEC and ETF applicants. Balchunas expressed a 90% certainty that one, or even several, spot Bitcoin ETFs will receive approval from the SEC by January 10, 2024.

The analyst also highlighted the question of creation methods, namely whether the SEC will permit in-kind creations or restrict early releases to cash creates. In-kind creations allow ETF participants to transact in Bitcoin while cash creations would necessitate transactions in cash. A key point of BlackRock’s latest meeting concerned this very issue.

The bid for the first US spot Bitcoin ETF comes amidst increasing interest in digital assets, even as no such ETF currently exists within the US. So far, only Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs have obtained SEC approval.