Investment giant BlackRock applied for a Bitcoin ETF. If the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approves the application, it’ll become the first spot crypto fund in the U.S. and give local investors access to BTC through traditional investment tools.
Investment firm BlackRock joins a long list of those willing to create a Bitcoin ETF in the United States by filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
According to a filing published by the Nasdaq stock exchange with the SEC, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF will be traded as Commodity Trust Shares, and BTC quotes will be updated every 15 seconds using the CF Benchmarks index. Companies that will be involved in the process include:
- BlackRock Fund Advisors will act as the trustee (Commodity Trusts);
- Coinbase Custody Trust Company, LLC will hold BTC;
- Bank of New York Mellon will act as the trust administrator and hold fiat funds.
At the moment, many companies, including ARK Invest and Grayscale, are waiting for the SEC to approve a Bitcoin ETF. However, the regulator has yet to approve any of the applications. BlackRock is one of the world’s largest investment companies, so its intention to create a crypto ETF is a big step toward recognizing BTC as an investment asset.
The interest of institutional investors in crypto isn’t decreasing. For example, about half of U.S., Chinese, and European investors are interested in adding crypto ETFs to their investment portfolios. However, as the latest Nomura Laser Digital survey shows, they’re in no hurry to do so, waiting for more regulatory clarity for such assets. About 90% of institutional investors believe it’s essential to have support from a major traditional financial institution for crypto ETFs, and about 75% of them cited regulatory restrictions as a main obstacle to investing in crypto ETFs.
BlackRock’s application sparked controversial reviews in the crypto community. For example, Mike Novogratz, Head of Galaxy Digital, expressed hope that the regulator would approve a Bitcoin ETF in the United States. In his opinion, this would be the best development for Bitcoin and could potentially increase investor confidence in the first cryptocurrency. However, other members of the cryptocurrency community warned of possible negative consequences. They believe that the approval of BlackRock’s application could lead to potential violations of decentralization principles and give large institutional players a possible advantage.
Nevertheless, BTC quotations responded positively to the news. According to CoinMarketCap, the price of the first cryptocurrency increased by 2.5% in the last 24 hours. As of 11:00 (GMT+3) on June 16, BTC is trading at $25,560.
