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SEC delays spot Bitcoin ETF decision for BlackRock, Invesco and Bitwise

September 28, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie were also hit with delays by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision on several proposals for spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including BlackRock, ahead of an anticipated government shutdown.

The spot Bitcoin ETF applications of Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie were also delayed by the SEC, according to separate Sept. 28 filings, while Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart is expecting the applications from Fidelity, VanEck and WidsomTree to also be pushed back by the securities regulator.

ANOTHER: @BlackRock joins the party on spot #Bitcoin ETF delays. Three out of seven down. https://t.co/Cn9DSibqf8 pic.twitter.com/eJTzDNInCi
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 28, 2023

Seyffart expected the delays due to a U.S. government “shutdown” potentially taking place on Oct. 1.

Both chambers of Congress — the House and Senate — haven’t agreed on various funding bills to finance government operations, which has put the short-term future of the U.S. government in jeopardy.

Congress needs to pass 12 separate full-year funding bills by Oct. 1 to avoid a shutdown.

The latest delays came two weeks earlier than the scheduled second deadline date for many applicants, many of whom were expecting to hear from the securities regulator by Oct. 16–19.

The SEC delayed a bundle of spot Bitcoin ETF applicants in early September, when the first deadline was approaching.

Meanwhile, the third set of deadlines for the seven firms is around mid-January, and they could also be delayed. The SEC will have to make a final decision by mid-March at the very latest.

In late August, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas estimated that the probability of a spot Bitcoin ETF being approved by the end of 2023 had increased to 75% (from an earlier 65%).

He cited the unanimity and decisiveness at which the U.S. Court of Appeals Circuit reached its decision in Grayscale’s court win over the SEC as the main reason behind the odds increasing.

Balchunas further raised those odds to 95% by the end of 2024.

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Bitcoin ETFs have 75% chance of approval this year: Bloomberg analysts

August 31, 2023 Coin Telegraph

Bitwise

Bloomberg ETF analysts raised their odds for a spot Bitcoin ETF approval after the recent Grayscale victory against the SEC.

Bloomberg analysts have raised the probability for an approved spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) by the end of 2023, following a recent Grayscale victory against the federal securities regulator.

In a Aug. 30 post on X (Twitter), Bloomberg senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said they have raised the chances to 75% from an earlier 65% — due to the unanimity and decisiveness at which the United States Court of Appeals Circuit reached its decision in the recent case.

“The judges unanimously repudiated the SEC’s arguments, and the agency will struggle to justify further denials as it faces deadlines,” Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart and Elliot Stein added in a separate Aug. 30 note.

NEW: @JSeyff & I are upping our odds to 75% of spot bitcoin ETFs launching this yr (95% by end of '24). While we factored Grayscale win into our prev 65% odds, the unanimity & decisiveness of ruling was beyond expectations and leaves SEC w "very little wiggle room" via @NYCStein pic.twitter.com/IyEGmWjuHa
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 30, 2023

In his own post on X, Seyffart added that spot Bitcoin ETF approvals will likely be a “done deal” by Q4 2024, estimating the approval odds to have now skyrocketed to 95% by then.

Balchunas added that given the recent legal and public relations loss, a denial by the SEC will be “politically untennable.”

Beyond the legal loss, there is also the PR loss (which matters bc it sets narratives, changes minds). And this got covered far and wide in mainstream media incl NYT, WSJ, CNN, AP, ABC & on and on. We think the legal and PR loss will combine to make denial politically untenable. pic.twitter.com/Uarh5CszXC
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) August 30, 2023

Over the next five days, seven Bitcoin spot ETF applications are due for a “first deadline” decision by the SEC, including Bitwise, BlackRock, VanEck, Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdomtree and Valkyrie.

Balchunas said he “wouldn’t be surprised” if the SEC delays these upcoming Bitcoin spot ETF applications.

But the most likely outcome will be that we unexpectedly wake up to the SEC giving in and approving the Bitcoin spot ETFs in one hit, he said.

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Cboe refiles 5 Bitcoin ETFs to include Coinbase surveillance agreements

July 12, 2023 Coin Telegraph

21shares

The surveillance-sharing agreements are a measure recommended by the SEC in March, which says they can prevent fraud and protect investors.

Exchange operator Cboe Global Markets has amended five spot Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) applications to include a surveillance-sharing agreement (SSA) with Coinbase.

On July 11, Cboe amended filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the ETFs from Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity and the joint fund by ARK Invest and 21Shares.

Cboe said it had "reached an agreement on terms with Coinbase" to enter into the SSA's which were settled on June 21. The initial filings for the ETFs stated the parties were "expecting to enter" an SSA prior to potentially offering the ETFs.

The SSAs are an attempt to meet the SEC's standards aimed at preventing fraudulent conduct and protecting investors, as outlined by the regulator on March 10:

“[An exchange needs] a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying or reference bitcoin assets.”

Spot Bitcoin ETF applications have been a focus point for the industry lately. The filings by Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree and Valkyrie follow the $10 trillion asset management firm BlackRock which also filed an ETF for SEC approval.

On June 29, the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq also refiled its application to list BlackRock's ETF, similarly inclusive of an SSA with Coinbase.

Cboe's filings pushed Coinbase (COIN) shares up nearly 10% on June 11, the highest price it's reached since August 16, according to Google Finance.

*Coinbase’s share price jumped nearly 10% with the latest SSA-related filing amendments. Source: Google Finance*

Despite the involvement with Bitcoin ETF applications, Coinbase is currently battling out a lawsuit with the SEC for allegedly offering cryptocurrencies the regulator considers to be unregistered securities.

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SEC approves 9 more WisdomTree ‘blockchain-enabled’ funds

December 15, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin etf

After announcing the approval of nine new digital funds, WisdomTree reiterated that it wants to further integrate blockchain tech to improve the investor experience.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to nine more blockchain-enabled funds from $82 billion asset manager WisdomTree.

None of these funds track crypto assets themselves, but the firm does utilize the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains to keep a secondary record of share ownership, thus making them blockchain-enabled or “digital funds” as WidsomTree describes them.

The firm announced the SEC’s approval on Dec. 14, and outlined that the nine digital funds offer exposure to a host of different asset classes such as equities, commodities and floating rate treasuries. The funds are expected to launch via the WisdomTree Prime mobile app in the first quarter of 2023.

“We believe that blockchain-enabled finance has the potential to improve the investor experience through enhanced liquidity, transparency and standardization, which we aim to achieve over time,” said Will Peck, WisdomTree’s Head of Digital Assets.

The latest SEC approval comes three months after it approved the firm’s first digital fund called the WisdomTree Short-Term Treasury Digital Fund (WTSYX) in September.

In a Sept. 26 blog post, Peck emphasized that WisdomTree is looking at creating a greater investor experience via digital funds and blockchain tech, particularly in relation to trading and transaction settlements.

“To give a few examples [...] it’s remarkable that some blockchains can provide near-instant settlement finality on a peer-to-peer basis on a 24/7/365 basis. Blockchains can allow for atomic settlement (where software ensures assets are exchanged in settlement) as opposed to other potentially riskier settlement processes, like delivery vs. payment (DvP),” he wrote.

As of Dec. 14, WisdomTree claims to have roughly $82 billion worth of assets under management across its U.S. and Europe listed funds.

Like Grayscale Investments, the firm has also been pushing to launch an exchange traded fund (ETF) offering exposure to the spot price of Bitcoin (BTC) since early 2021.

However the SEC has rejected WidsomTree’s applications on multiple occasions, citing general concerns over fraud and market manipulation on BTC trading markets.

To date, the SEC is still yet to approve a spot BTC ETF.

The firm however offers various products tracking the altcoin market and earlier this year in March, the firm also launched three crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) backed by Solana (SOL), Cardano (ADA) and Polkadot (DOT).

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WisdomTree launches four cryptocurrency indices in US and Europe

December 3, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

The indices will provide investors with direct exposure to large-cap cryptocurrencies, altcoins, DeFi services, and more.

On Friday, WisdomTree, a financial institution with over $76 billion in assets under management, announced it had created four cryptocurrency indices in the United States and Europe to provide diversified portfolio exposure to investors. The move comes in collaboration with Ritholtz Wealth Management, OnRamp, and Gemini.

In the U.S., WisdomTree will launch the RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index. And in Europe, WisdomTree is advancing the WisdomTree Crypto Mega Cap Equal Weight (MEGA), WisdomTree Crypto Market (BLOC), and WisdomTree Crypto Altcoins (WALT) indices.

The RWM WisdomTree Crypto Index will focus on crypto assets, layer one networks, layer two protocols, oracle networks, and decentralized finance protocols, among others. But it will have a heavy emphasis on layer one networks, with 64% of the fund's assets going into this category.

Meanwhile, MEGA will act as an equal weight index for large-cap cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH). As for BLOC, it will track the performance of the top 70% of cryptos by market cap. Lastly, WALT is another equally-weighted index that seeks to track the performance of altcoins, and will not hold either BTC or ETH.

Alexis Marinof, head of European operations at WisdomTree, issued the following statement with regards to the development:

As interest in crypto assets remains high and becomes a bigger focus for investors, we will continue investing in our platform and capabilities to support investors in this fast-moving market.

WisdomTree's application to list a Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States was rejected earlier this week after the Securities and Exchange Commission determined that the proposed fund failed to meet various regulatory requirements, including those found under the Exchange Act. However, the asset manager succeeded in listing several exchange-traded products in Europe.

SEC Rejects Bitcoin Spot ETF From WisdomTree

December 2, 2021 The Crypto Briefing

SEC rejects WisdomTree’s application for spot Bitcoin ETF

December 2, 2021 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

The Cboe BZX Exchange used the examples set by CME's crypto futures products in its argument for approval, but the SEC rejected them.

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has officially disapproved asset manager WisdomTree’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) after deferring on a decision several times this year.

According to a Wednesday filing, the SEC rejected a proposed rule change from the Cboe BZX Exchange to list and trade shares of WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Trust. Specifically, the SEC said any rule change in favor of approving the ETF would not be “‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” nor “protect investors and the public interest.”

The SEC concluded that BZX had not met the requirements of listing a financial product under its rules in addition to the Exchange Act, saying the BTC ETF proposed would not allow the commission “to obtain information necessary to detect, investigate, and deter fraud and market manipulation, as well as violations of exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws and rules.” In addition, the SEC said that the exchange had not provided sufficient means “to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” in any potential listing.

Specifically, the agency claimed that BZX did not provide enough data to conclude the crypto market is resistant to manipulation, or address concerns about possible sources of fraud and manipulation, including wash trading and other risk factors. While the exchange used the examples set by crypto futures products with the CME Group in its argument for approval, the SEC rejected them as evidence towards accepting a spot crypto ETF.

“The Commission cannot conclude, based on BZX’s statements alone and absent any evidence or analysis in support of BZX’s assertions, that it is unlikely that trading in the ETP would be the predominant influence on prices in the CME bitcoin futures market,” said the filing.

Since originally filing its application with the SEC on Mar. 26, WisdomTree has seen the commission delay a decision on its spot Bitcoin ETF several times in 2021. The SEC opened the application to the public for comment in April and designated longer periods of time to approve or disapprove the proposed rule change in May, July and September. Its reasoning for denying the offering from WisdomTree was similar to that for VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF, rejected in November.

However, across the pond, WisdomTree was able to list its crypto basket exchange-traded product on Euronext exchanges in Paris and Amsterdam. The investment product, trading under the ticker MEGA, is backed by physical crypto assets including Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

A separate ETF application for WisdomTree’s Ethereum Trust in the United States, first submitted to the SEC in May, is still under review. In addition, the agency will likely reach a decision on an exchange-traded fund offering exposure to Bitcoin from Kryptocoin, with the deadline expected on Dec. 24.

WisdomTree

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