IMPORTANT POINTS:
- ARK Investment Management leads the race for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.
- European asset manager 21Shares along with ARK filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF before BlackRock and others.
- Experts believe the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023 is unlikely.
ARK Investment Management, founded by Cathie Wood, is leading the race for the first spot in Bitcoin ETF in the cryptocurrency industry. Contrary to the expectations recently generated in the cryptocurrency markets by the BlackRock request, ARK Invest appears to be in the lead.
Investment firm BlackRock filed an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, sparking notable optimism in the cryptocurrency markets. However, some executives and analysts argue that ARK Invest could have the upper hand.
“Other applicants will be able to modify their applications with similar agreements at minimal cost,” ARK analyst Yassine Elmandjra said.
Elmandjra emphasized that ARK and European asset manager 21Shares filed an application with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Bitcoin ETF in April. “That is now the only one ahead of BlackRock,” she added.
James Seyffart and other experts argue that ARK and 21Shares are leading the race for the first spot Bitcoin ETF.
“21Shares, ARK, and Cboe (Chicago Board Options Exchange) are first in line because their next SEC decision date is August 13, 2023, and we don’t yet have a date for the other 19b-4 filings like BlackRock’s. ” .Seyffart declared.
On the other hand, BlackRock’s filing for the iShares Bitcoin Trust has triggered a wave of revivals in Bitcoin ETF applications. Firms such as cryptocurrency fund manager Valkyrie, WisdomTree, and Invesco resubmitted applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, with Bitwise also attempting to obtain a Bitcoin ETF again.
“And our optimistic case for approval of the Spot Bitcoin ETF can basically be summed up in four words: ‘What does BlackRock know?’” Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, wrote on Twitter. Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, expressed similar sentiments on Twitter on June 26.
Many industry watchers have highlighted the timing of BlackRock’s Spot Bitcoin ETF filing, with some alleging that the firm might have inside information about the SEC’s Bitcoin ETF policies.
The prospect of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US market has generated optimism. However, many experts believe that these products will not arrive in the near future.
Wade Guenther, a partner at Wilshire Phoenix, commented that the SEC is unlikely to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023. According to Guenther, there hasn’t been much development since the Winklevoss twins filed for one in 2017.
“We do not believe that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be available to the public anytime soon because there is still some review time. So it might not be until next year, possibly the year after, when we might see a spot Bitcoin ETF.”
Previously, Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, predicted that the world would not see a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2023.
