Bloomberg: SEC may announce policies related to Bitcoin ETF on January 10

Author: Katie Greifeld, Allyson Versprille, Source: Bloomberg; Compiled by: Songxue, Golden Finance

A series of key deadlines this week will mark the years-long push to launch Bitcoin-backed in the United States exchange-traded funds (ETFs) efforts are at their peak.

Issuers interested in launching a Bitcoin ETF were given until Monday morning Washington time to submit any last-minute revisions to complete the process for their pending applications, Bloomberg News reported. The SEC itself has until January 10 to take action to make a decision on at least one of the applications, and crypto industry insiders speculate that the regulator may use that day to announce a series of decisions simultaneously.

Before a spot-enabled Bitcoin ETF can begin trading, two technical requirements must be met. First, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must approve so-called 19b-4 filings by exchanges, which contain information about the exchange on which the ETF will be listed. Second, regulators must approve the relevant Form S-1, which is an application to register as an intended issuer, which includes companies such as BlackRock and Fidelity.

According to Bloomberg News, the SEC plans to vote on the exchange’s 19b-4 filing in the next few days. Regulators may or may not take action on an issuer's S-1 filing at the same time. If the SEC grants both sets of required approvals, the ETF could begin trading the next business day.

A representative for the SEC declined to comment on the status of the filing.

Bitcoin supporters say an ETF backed by the largest crypto token would represent a watershed moment for the digital asset industry. Billions of dollars are at stake, representing potential inflows from retail and institutional investors.

Michael Anderson, co-founder of crypto venture capital firm Framework Ventures, said: “The market still severely underestimates the potential impact of the approval of a Bitcoin ETF.”

But Democrats The SEC under Gary Gensler and his Trump-era predecessor Jay Clayton had previously refused to allow such products, citing concerns about investor protection and Possibility of market manipulation.

However, since the SEC lost a key legal battle against crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments in August, there has been speculation that the regulator will have to give in to growing calls for the product. heat up.

Market speculation that regulatory approval was imminent fueled a more than 160% increase in the price of Bitcoin last year. However, this was still not enough to regain the previous high of around $69,000 set in November 2021. Since the start of 2024, Bitcoin prices have been trading within a relatively narrow range, holding around $45,000.