Spot Bitcoin ETF Issuers Given Clearance To Submit Final Documents

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission informed exchanges and issuers that want to list spot Bitcoin BTC/USD ETFs to submit a final version of a key document as soon as Friday, Bloomberg reported, citing sources close to the matter.

What Happened: The documents could be the 19b-4 filings defined as proposals for rule changes on stock exchanges, enabling the ETFs to trade. The staff provided no additional feedback to several issuers after the latest amendments.

SEC commissioners will likely vote on the exchange-rule filings next week. The issuers will also need the SEC to sign off on the final versions of their S-1 filings and ETF prospectus documents.

Read More: Spot Bitcoin ETF Debate Heats Up: 'We Have Heard Nothing To Indicate Anything But Approval'

Why It Matters: Approval of 19b-4 and S-1 forms are not seen happening simultaneously and may have a gap of some days. Once the S-1 is approved, possibly after the 19b-4, trading can commence on the next business day.

The prior week saw multiple amendment filings from BlackRock, Fidelity and others to pick their authorized participants. On Thursday, Grayscale, VanEck, Valkyrie and 21Ark filed Form 8-A registration of securities with the SEC.

X user borovik.eth went on the platform to highlight the crypto floodgates are about to open, "Once spot bitcoin ETFs are approved, trillions of dollars will be able to flow into bitcoin."

Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas in a live session on X hosted by TheBlock indicated that all the 19b-4 filings will not be passed until Jan. 10 and the S-1s approval would stretch to Jan. 16 or later, after which the ETFs would be allowed to trade.

"This caught my attn too, hadnt heard this but it would be on brand for BlackRock. They’ve lined up and injected big cash into new ETFs on first day of trading so it registers as volume/flows. *If* it’s true, $2b would blow away all first day/week volume/aum records for an ETF." https://t.co/vL3psVukcm

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) January 5, 2024

 

Swan Media disclosed another Balchunas' statement on its X: “Yeah it’s basically done. Latest I’m hearing (from multiple sources) that final S-1s are due 8am on Monday as SEC is trying to line everyone up for January 11th launch..”

 

Also Read: 88% of Advisors Are Waiting For Bitcoin ETF Approval To Buy BTC

Photo: Shutterstock