Charles Schwab May Enter Spot Bitcoin ETF Market

According to Blockworks, Charles Schwab, the financial giant with an asset management arm managing about $320 billion in US ETFs, is predicted by some industry watchers to potentially launch a spot bitcoin ETF. Currently, Schwab allows investors to trade spot bitcoin ETFs on its brokerage platform, alongside Fidelity. However, unlike Fidelity, Schwab does not offer its own spot bitcoin ETF. Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) has seen $1.9 billion of inflows since its launch on January 11, coming second only to BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) with nearly $2.2 billion of inflows. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts suggest that the success of Fidelity's FBTC could prompt Schwab to file for a spot bitcoin ETF sooner rather than later. Nate Geraci, president of The ETF Store, also believes that Schwab's entrance into the segment is a 'foregone conclusion.' Although Schwab launched an ETF holding crypto-related stocks in 2022, the company has not announced any plans to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. A spokesperson for Schwab told Blockworks that the firm does not comment on speculation but continues to learn and hear from investors about their investment needs and considerations for investing in bitcoin ETFs. Meanwhile, Vanguard has made it clear that it does not intend to launch a spot bitcoin ETF, stating that it does not believe there is an appropriate role for them in long-term portfolios. Vanguard also does not allow investors to buy or sell such funds on its platform. Ten spot bitcoin ETFs have now traded for more than two weeks after gaining approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. However, not all industry experts believe more spot bitcoin ETFs will come to market. Sumit Roy, senior analyst at ETF.com, said he does not expect any other issuers to launch 'vanilla' spot bitcoin ETFs in the future, but anticipates more creative funds that add other types of exposures on top of just bitcoin.