Details from the spot Bitcoin ETF applications in the US reveal that the next opportunity for the US Securities and Exchange Commission to respond to the application of seven spot Bitcoin ETFs is in October after a long season of postponement.
The applications from BlackRock, Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Galaxy, Fidelity, and Valkyrie are set for a second review in the third week of October while those of Global X and Hashdex coming up on October 7, 2023, and October 29, 2023, respectively.
A Bitcoin ETF, or Exchange-Traded Fund, is a financial product that allows investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin without directly owning the cryptocurrency.
It works like a traditional stock or ETF, enabling investors to buy shares that represent Bitcoin holdings.
Moreover, while the SEC has given the green light to various futures-based Bitcoin ETFs, it has not yet approved any spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The main difference between a spot Bitcoin ETF and a futures Bitcoin ETF is that although spot Bitcoin ETFs track the price of actual Bitcoin, to reflect the real-time market value of Bitcoin, futures Bitcoin ETF follows the price of Bitcoin futures contracts.
These futures contracts enable users to speculate on Bitcoin’s price, giving them the option to either purchase or sell at a predetermined date.
It is also worthy to note that after the applications done by BlackRock and co in H1 2023, the SEC refused to approve it.
It said that the information provided in the applications was not enough to proceed for approval.
In response to that decision, the affected firms reapplied for the same services with updates expected to match the requirements of the SEC.
Now the next announcement of the decision by the US authorities is expected in October prolonging the matter.
ETH ETFs
As the entire crypto community expects to see the first approved spot Bitcoin ETF, there has also been recent ETH ETFs applications by Volatility Shares, Bitwise, Roundhill, VanEck, Proshares, and Grayscale.
Following these applications, Bloomberg said that there is a higher chance for the SEC to approve the ETH ETFs soon.
