According to statements made by Nasdaq CEO Giang Bui on September 13, an early rejection of BlackRock’s planned Bitcoin ETF should not affect its ultimate success.
BlackRock filed for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on June 15. While BlackRock filed Form S-1 to register its product, Nasdaq was responsible for filing Form 19-b4, which proposes rule changes necessary to bring the product to market. .
On June 30, the US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) declared this latest application, along with others, insufficient, leading to its early rejection. However, this decision concerns procedural issues rather than the content or potential viability of the product.
However, these early rejections may not be a bad sign for applicants. Giang Bui, head of Nasdaq’s US equities and ETPs, told Forbes:
“Once the exchange files [19-b4]the SEC has seven business days to reject the proposal if it determines that it does not comply with SEC rules regarding form. The rejection at that stage is purely procedural and not indicative of the viability of the product.”
After that initial rejection, Nasdaq and others submitted updates to several ETF applications and explicitly listed Coinbase as a monitoring sharing partner. Bui acknowledged this by stating that it is unusual to list partners in this way; However, she said the late addition was Nasdaq’s attempt to make the filing “as strong as possible.”
Other spot Bitcoin ETFs are pending
BlackRock’s proposed spot Bitcoin ETF isn’t the only application of its kind. Nasdaq is simultaneously considering a similar proposal from Vaklyrie Investments. Meanwhile, another exchange, Cboe, is fielding proposals from other asset managers, including Ark Invest, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco and Fidelity. NYSE Arca is handling an ETF proposal from Bitwise. Many of these proposals are very similar and describe a control sharing agreement with Coinbase.
Elsewhere, Grayscale is looking to convert its existing GBTC fund into a spot Bitcoin ETF in a slightly different way. Bui acknowledged Grayscale’s proposal and its recent legal victory, noting that Nasdaq is “analyzing what that means for [its] files.”
In late August, the SEC postponed its decision on most of the aforementioned spot Bitcoin ETFs. The SEC is expected to rule on certain filings in October.
Post-Nasdaq CEO Says BlackRock’s First Bitcoin ETF Rejection Was ‘Purely Procedural’ and Not Final Appeared first on CryptoSlate.