BlackRock and multiple other fund managers filed for Spot Bitcoin ETFs back in June. Since then, speculations have abounded regarding if the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will approve the first Spot Bitcoin ETF given its track record. But according to insiders, the first approval may not be far off.
Approval Coming Soon For First Spot Bitcoin ETF
Citing his sources at BlackRock and Invesco, Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz stated that the SEC will likely give the green light for these Bitcoin ETFs within the next four to six months. The CEO said this on an earnings call with investors where he maintained a bullish stance on the firm’s Bitcoin strategy.
“Our contacts from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side gets you to think that this is a question of when, not if, that the outside window this is probably six months,” Novogratz said during the company’s Q2 earnings call on August 8. “And so you’re– kind of your four to six months, if you had to put a pin the tail on the donkey audit.”
During the earnings call, the Galaxy Digital CEO noted that the Spot Bitcoin ETF application by BlackRock, which happens to be the largest asset manager, has sparked a positive sentiment from institutional investors towards the foremost cryptocurrency.
He also highlighted how BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s change of mind from being a Bitcoin skeptic to a proponent has arguably led the Bitcoin adoption charge in the asset management industry.
In 2017, Fink labeled Bitcoin an “index of money laundering.” However, the CEO of the largest investment firm in the world has since changed his stance, and Fink has advocated for Bitcoin, rightly labeling it as the first “global money.”
BTC price recovers following improved market sentiment | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
Competition Is Going To Be Hot
Novogratz told investors on the call that he recognizes that the competition will be hot once the various spot Bitcoin ETFs are approved. He, however, reaffirmed his company’s intention to claim a large chunk of the ETF market share. According to him, “We’re going to fight like cats and dogs to win market share once it’s approved.”
Other prominent firms that are major contenders for a Spot Bitcoin ETF include Invesco (the US fourth-largest ETF manager), Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, Wisdom Tree (the 10th largest ETF manager), Fidelity, Grayscale, and Valkyrie.
While it remains uncertain in what order the SEC will approve these applications (or whether they will be approved together), many believe that a first-mover advantage could be key to determining which of these firms enjoy a huge chunk of the market share in the spot Bitcoin ETF industry.
That is why it isn’t surprising that Valkyrie recently filed an application to the SEC to amend its Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BTF) to include ETH futures contracts, in a move that could see it launch ahead of other firms applying for an Ethereum futures ETF.