Disclosure: Crypto is a high-risk asset class. This article is provided for informational purposes and does not constitute investment advice. By using this website, you agree to our terms and conditions. We may utilise affiliate links within our content, and receive commission.
BlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETFBlackRock Spot Bitcoin ETFBlackRock Office

Officials from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) met with three employees of BlackRock on Thursday to discuss the asset manager’s application to set up a spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), as per a memorandum released by the SEC on Friday.

News that the US regulator continues its dialogue with BlackRock should keep optimism high that spot Bitcoin ETF approvals will come sooner rather than later.

BlackRock first applied to set up a spot Bitcoin ETF, which will be called the iShares Bitcoin Trust, back in June, triggered a surge in the Bitcoin price at the time.

A dozen other asset managers quickly followed with their own applications.

BlackRock’s ETF Application a Turning Point for the BTC Market


The application from BlackRock was deemed a turning point for sentiment in the Bitcoin market this year, given the asset manager’s clout on Wall Street and amongst regulators.

Up until now, the SEC has either rejected or delayed all spot Bitcoin ETF applications citing concerns about potential manipulation of the spot market.

But BlackRock is the biggest name on Wall Street and has historically only ever applied to set up ETFs if it is certain they will gain approval.

What differentiates BlackRock’s application from those that came before it (and the applications of a dozen other asset managers that were filed shortly after BlackRock’s) is a new mechanism for monitoring trade, which theoretically should make market manipulation harder.

Expectations that spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s, will gain approval in 2024, spurring a wave of new institutional investment into the Bitcoin market, has been a key bullish tailwind for BTC in recent months.

At current levels near $42,000, Bitcoin is up nearly 70 from October’s lows.

Recent legal defeats sustained by the SEC versus digital asset manager Grayscale, who have been pushing to set up their own spot Bitcoin ETF for years, are deemed as speeding up the timeline for approvals.

Approval to Come in January?


As per analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence speaking in an interview on The Block’s YouTube channel, a wave of spot Bitcoin ETF applications are likely to come between the 5th and 10th of January.