BlackRock and multiple other fund managers applied for Spot Bitcoin ETFs in June. Since then, there has been a lot of speculation about whether the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first Spot Bitcoin ETF given its track record. But according to insiders, the first approval may not be far off.
Approval coming soon for First Spot Bitcoin ETF
Referring to his sources at BlackRock and Invesco, Mike Novogratz, CEO of Galaxy Digital, stated that the SEC will likely give the green light to this Bitcoin ETFs in the next four to six months. The CEO said this during an earnings call with investors, where he remained optimistic about the company’s Bitcoin strategy.
“Our contacts from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side lead you to think that this is a matter of when, not if, the outside window is probably six months.” Novogratz said so during the company’s Q2 earnings call on Aug. 8. “And so you are — kind of your four to six months, if you should put a pin on the donkey control’s tail.
During the earnings call, the CEO of Galaxy Digital noted that BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF application, which happens to be the largest asset manager, has generated positive sentiment among institutional investors towards the leading cryptocurrency.
He also highlighted how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s change of mind from a Bitcoin skeptic to an advocate has arguably led to Bitcoin’s adoption in the wealth management industry.
In 2017, Fink labeled Bitcoin a “money laundering index.” However, the CEO of the largest investment firm in the world has since changed his stance, and Fink has advocated for Bitcoin, rightly labeling it as the first “global money.”
BTC price recovers following improved market sentiment | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
The competition is getting hot
Novogratz told investors on the call that he recognizes that competition will be fierce once the various spot Bitcoin ETFs are approved. However, he reaffirmed his company’s intention to claim a large chunk of the ETF market share. According to him, “We’re going to fight like cats and dogs to gain market share once it’s approved.”
Other prominent companies that are strong contenders for a Spot Bitcoin ETF include Invesco (the US’s fourth-largest ETF manager), ARK Invest by Cathie WoodWisdom Tree (10th largest ETF manager), Fidelity, GrayscaleAnd Valkyrie.
Although it remains uncertain in which order the SEC will do so approve these requests (or whether they will be approved together), many believe that a first-mover advantage could be key to determining which of these companies hold a large share of the market share in the spot Bitcoin ETF industry.
Therefore, it is not surprising that Valkyrie recently filed a report application to the SEC to modify its Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) to include ETH futures contracts, in a move it could launch before other companies apply for an Ethereum futures ETF.
Featured image from iStock, chart from Tradingview.com