U.S. regulators approved bitcoin ETFs, dramatically broadening access to the 15-year-old cryptocurrency.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday declared effective the 19b-4 filings submitted by the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets, giving these markets permission to list and offer trading in the securities as soon as Thursday. The 22-page document appeared on the regulator’s website before 4 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC), briefly disappeared but then reappeared – sowing confusion.
About a dozen companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale, sought to create bitcoin (BTC) ETFs. In recent days they’ve announced – and, in some cases, slashed – the fees they plan to charge investors, suggesting a fierce battle to collect investors’ money is ahead. These are spot ETFs, meaning they hold bitcoin itself, versus the already-approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which hold derivatives contracts tied to BTC.
The green light from the SEC follows many years of delays and outright rejections of numerous attempts to launch spot bitcoin ETFs. It also comes just a few months after the agency was handed a resounding loss in court. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in August ruled the SEC was “arbitrary and capricious” in its decision to reject Grayscale’s attempt to convert its roughly $26 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF.
In a statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler pointed to a court loss in 2023 as part of its impetus to approve the dozen or so filings on Wednesday.
U.S. regulators approved bitcoin ETFs, dramatically broadening access to the 15-year-old cryptocurrency.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday declared effective the 19b-4 filings submitted by the New
York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets, giving these markets permission to list and offer trading in the securities as soon as Thursday. The 22-page document appeared on the regulator’s website before 4 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC), briefly disappeared but then reappeared – sowing confusion.
About a dozen companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale, sought to create bitcoin (BTC)ETFs. In recent days they’ve announced – and, in some cases, slashed – the fees they plan to charge investors, suggesting a fierce battle to collect investors’ money is ahead. These are spot ETFs, meaning they hold bitcoin itself, versus the already-approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which hold derivatives contracts tied to BTC.
The approved spot bitcoin ETFs are ARK
21shares Bitcoin ETF (ARKB), Fidelity
Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), Franklin
Bitcoin ETF (EZBC), Invesco Galaxy
Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), Vaneck Bitcoin Trust
(HODL), Wisdomtree Bitcoin Fund
(BTCW), Bitwise Bitcoin Trust (BITB),
Ishares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Valkyrie
Bitcoin Fund (BRRR), Hashdex Bitcoin ETF (DEFI), and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).
The green light from the SEC follows many years of delays and outright rejections of numerous attempts to launch spot bitcoin ETFs. It also comes just a few months after the agency was handed a resounding loss in court. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in August ruled the SEC was “arbitrary and capricious” in its decision to reject Grayscale’s attempt to convert its roughly $26 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF.
In a statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler pointed to a court loss in 2023 as part of its impetus to approve the dozen or so filings on Wednesday.
U.S. regulators approved bitcoin ETFs, dramatically broadening access to the 15-year-old cryptocurrency.
The Securities and Exchange Commission on Wednesday declared effective the 19b-4 filingssubmitted by the New York Stock Exchange, Nasdaq and Cboe Global Markets, giving these markets permission to list and offer trading in the securities as soon as Thursday. The 22-page document appeared on the regulator’s website before 4 p.m. ET (21:00 UTC), briefly disappeared but then reappeared – sowing confusion.
About a dozen companies, including BlackRock, Fidelity and Grayscale, sought to create bitcoin (BTC)ETFs. In recent days they’ve announced – and, in some cases, slashed – the fees they plan to charge investors, suggesting a fierce battle to collect investors’ money is ahead. These are spot ETFs, meaning they hold bitcoin itself, versus the already-approved bitcoin futures ETFs, which hold derivatives contracts tied to BTC.
The green light from the SEC follows many years of delays and outright rejections of numerous attempts to launch spot bitcoin ETFs. It also comes just a few months after the agency was handed a resounding loss in court. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in August ruled the SEC was “arbitrary and capricious” in its decision to reject Grayscale’s attempt to convert its roughly $26 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF.
In a statement, SEC Chair Gary Gensler pointed to a court loss in 2023 as part of its impetus to approve the dozen or so filings on Wednesday.
“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Commission failed to adequately explain its reasoning in disapproving the listing and trading of Grayscale’s proposed ETP (the Grayscale Order). The court therefore vacated the Grayscale Order and remanded the matter to the Commission. Based on these circumstances and those discussed more fully in the approval order, I feel the most sustainable path forward is to approve the listing and trading of these spot bitcoin ETP shares,” he said.
Advocates for a spot bitcoin ETF have long argued that a regulated trading product focused on the world’s oldest cryptocurrency would allow institutional and retail clients to gain exposure to bitcoin’s price movements without requiring them to set up wallets or otherwise directly invest in the digital asset. ETF shares, for example, will be available to any U.S. investor with a brokerage account.
The 11 spot bitcoin ETF applicants filed their final registration statements (S-1) with the SEC this week. The filings revealed a fierce fee war among issuers.
In its latest filing, which was posted on the SEC’s website on Wednesday morning, Blackrock, the world’s largest asset manager, slashed its fee to 0.25% (0.12% for the first $5 billion), joining Ark Invest and 21shares in a fee-cutting frenzy. Their ETF fee sits at 0.21% with a 0% waiver for the first six months or $1 billion. Bitwise takes the crown with a 0.20% fee and identical waiver, while Grayscale remains the priciest option at 1.5%.