SEC Consults Seven Spot Bitcoin ETF Applicants Ahead of December 29 Deadline: Reuters

The US Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) officials met with representatives from about seven companies that applied to launch their spot Bitcoin ETFs.

According to Reuters, two applicants were told to finalize changes to their proposals to meet the deadline.

Representatives from prominent firms like BlackRock, Ark Investments, 21 Shares, and Grayscale attended the noteworthy Thursday meeting.

Notably, the joint application presented by ARK and 21 shares will be decided on by January 10.

Moreover, there were expectations that the SEC would approve multiple proposals simultaneously before the deadline.

SEC Meetings Suggest Potential Approval for Spot Bitcoin ETFs in Early 2024

Stakeholders from two of the proposing firms reported that the SEC had set December 29 as the final deadline to process the last updates. Any spot Bitcoin issuer missing the deadline won’t be included in the inaugural edition of the potential spot Bitcoin ETF.

Representatives from Nasdaq, Cboe, and issuers’ legal teams joined SEC meetings on spot bitcoin ETFs, signaling a potential breakthrough.

Despite Past rejections citing market vulnerability, the SEC now shows signs of approving some of the 13 proposed Bitcoin ETFs.

A pivotal court decision in August challenging the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s ETF conversion may have influenced regulators’ evolving stance.

Executives involved in recent SEC meetings reported indications of potential approval in the first days of 2024. Approval would be communicated individually to issuers, specifying the effective launch date for each proposed ETF.

Issuers like BlackRock and ARK made changes to technical details, such as allowing cash redemptions, in response to regulatory requests.

Final updates before potential approval would include fee details, with ARK and 21 Shares proposing a disclosed fee of 0.80%.

Issuer plans for “seeding” new ETFs—providing initial liquidity—will be detailed, likely starting small and increasing post-launch.