Spot Bitcoin ETF Applicants Flood SEC With Filing Updates Before Deadline

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Major asset managers, including Blackrock, Fidelity, Bitwise, and Wisdomtree, submitted their revised spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filings shortly before the deadline set by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday afternoon. The securities regulator reportedly wants authorized participants named in the filings.

The Race Is on for Spot Bitcoin ETFs

Spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants rushed to meet the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s deadline for registration statement (S-1) updates on Friday. The securities regulator reportedly told them to update their filings by Friday to be included in the first wave of spot bitcoin ETF decisions in early January.

Major asset managers, including Blackrock, Vaneck, Valkyrie, Bitwise, Invesco/Galaxy, Fidelity, Wisdomtree, and the Ark Investments and 21shares joint filing, submitted updated documents to the securities regulator Friday afternoon. According to reports, the SEC wants authorized participants (APs) — financial institutions that dynamically manage the creation and redemption of ETF shares in the primary market — named in amended spot bitcoin ETF filings.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas wrote on social media platform X Friday:

Blackrock just dropped its updated S-1 and it DOES name the APs: Jane Street and JPMorgan … Looks we have our first horse that at the starting gate.

The analyst added: “Just to be clear: the AP names weren’t due in S-1s, so Blackrock adding them in there is a bit of a flex in that regard. So if we see other S-1s not naming AP doesn’t mean they don’t have one lined up. But this does make Blackrock the first horse officially ready imo.”

Valkyrie named two authorized participants, Jane Street and Cantor Fitzgerald, in its fresh filing with the SEC. “They join Blackrock as the two horses officially at [the] starting gate,” Balchunas described, noting that Bitwise did not name an AP in its amended filing.

The Bloomberg analyst continued, “Fidelity’s S-1 filing included its fee which will be 0.39%,” emphasizing that currently, this fee is “by far” the lowest. The financial services giant named Jane Street as its spot bitcoin ETF’s authorized participant.

Wisdomtree also named Jane Street as its spot bitcoin ETF’s AP. “Another horse makes it to [the] starting gate,” Balchunas noted, adding:

Invesco/Galaxy is in and here’s a whopper: it will be waiving fee for first six months AND for first $5b in assets, APs named as well, Virtu and JPMorgan … Another horse in.

The analyst clarified: “What makes this AP thing tricky — and could keep some from starting gate — is not only does SEC want the AP named in docs but it wants them to be the underwriter of the ETF too, which may make them nervous re lawsuits/risk given how brand new the asset class is.”

What do you think about the spot bitcoin ETF race? Do you think the SEC will approve all applications in early January? Let us know in the comments section below.