Market is optimistic, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to approve the first round of Bitcoin futures ETF before January 10th next year. Informed sources said that the SEC may notify the issuers who have submitted modified application documents as early as next Tuesday or Wednesday, and they have been approved to issue Bitcoin futures ETF next week.
(Bitcoin futures ETF application review enters a critical moment, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently requested the 13 issuers who submitted applications to submit updated S-1 application documents, confirming detailed information of authorized participants (AP), and must submit them before the end of this year.
According to Reuters, BlackRock, VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, Bitwise Investment Advisers, Invesco, Fidelity, WisdomTree Investments, and the joint venture of Ark/21Shares have all submitted new modified application documents to the SEC, detailing the arrangements they have made with market makers to ensure trading liquidity and effectiveness.
Insiders familiar with the reporting procedures said that issuers who submit revised application documents by the end of this year may be able to launch ETFs before January 10th next year, which is the date when the SEC must approve or reject the Ark/21Shares ETF application.
These sources said that the SEC may notify the issuers as soon as next Tuesday or Wednesday that they have been approved to issue Bitcoin futures ETF next week.
Multiple issuers disclose authorized participant information
Multiple issuers have disclosed AP information in the revised S-1 documents submitted to the SEC:
BlackRock: Designated Jane Street Capital and JPMorgan as its AP, and it has confirmed the use of cash redemption model.
Fidelity: Jane Street is designated as its AP, with a total expense ratio as low as 0.39%, the lowest among all issuers.
Valkyrie: Designated Jane Street and Cantor Fitzgerald as AP, with a total expense ratio set at 0.8%.
WisdomTree: Also designated Jane Street as its AP.
Franklin Templeton: The AP is not clearly specified, and the document only states that the list of APs can be obtained from the manager or agent.
Invesco/Galaxy: Designated Virtu and JPMorgan as AP, and will exempt fees for the first 6 months.
VanEck: Confirmed the use of cash redemption model, but did not specify detailed AP information.
Bitwise: AP information is not disclosed, and the fee ratio is not revealed. It is revealed that someone has invested $200 million in BITB. (Image)
The S-1 amended form submitted by Ark/21Shares does not explicitly disclose AP information. VanEck and Bitwise also did not disclose underwriting information in their latest submitted S-1 forms, and it is uncertain whether it will affect their future approval by the SEC.
As for Grayscale, which is committed to converting the Bitcoin Trust Fund (GBTC) into a Bitcoin futures ETF, it designated Jane Street and Virtu as its AP as early as 2017.
Further reading:
BlackRock, Fidelity… 9 issuers disclose “AP”, SEC approves the final step for Bitcoin futures ETF.