ARK Invest CEO and CIO Cathie Wood said on Aug. 7 that the SEC could approve multiple Bitcoin spot ETFs at once, but is unlikely to do so by an approaching deadline.
Wood stated during an interview with Bloomberg:
“I think the [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission]if it’s going to approve a Bitcoin ETF, it’s going to approve more than one at a time…most of these will be essentially the same, and it comes down to marketing [and] to transfer the message.”
Before Wood responds, Bloomberg interviewers suggested that the SEC could place all ETFs on a “common clock” and place all ETF filings at the same level.
Typically, the SEC would decide on each filing based on the order of filing, but the current situation has numerous similar filings.
ARK filed its application for a spot Bitcoin ETF on May 15. Later, BlackRock filed a more prominent application on June 15, which led to several other companies filing. ARK then updated its own application in late June to add a surveillance sharing agreement with Coinbase in line with those other uses.
Others have advocated for simultaneous Bitcoin ETF approvals based on fairness rather than cross-application matches. Grayscale, which is unique in that it aims to convert its existing GBTC fund into an ETF, argues that the SEC should not give any company an unfair advantage or pick winners and losers by first approving specific applications.
Wood noted that ARK was an early investor in Grayscale’s GBTC fund, but couldn’t say whether the company would sell its GBTC holdings if that ETF conversion happened.
Also during the interview, Wood described US lawmakers’ efforts to challenge the SEC as a cause for optimism about pending ETF proposals.
Decision on August 13 is unlikely
Based on current deadlines, the SEC must approve or deny ARK’s application by August 13. Bloomberg interviewers and Wood both said a delay is likely. Wood stated specifically that it is likely that the deadline will “come and go” with no event.
Separate reports from CNBC suggest the SEC may extend deadlines by 240 days. That means the SEC could delay a decision on ARK’s filing until January 2024 and delay decisions on other spot Bitcoin ETFs until March 2024.
The SEC has rejected all proposed mock Bitcoin ETFs, including previous filings from ARK and its partner 21Shares. The agency rejected one of ARK’s applications in January 2023 and another in April 2022.
ARK Invest’s Cathie Wood expects a delayed Bitcoin ETF decision, but predicts multiple approvals after that first appeared on CryptoSlate.