Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Fidelity has become the latest financial institution to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
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Bitcoin is closing in on the $31k level following this latest development.
Fidelity Files For A Spot Bitcoin ETF
Asset management giant Fidelity has refiled paperwork for its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, a spot bitcoin ETF.
This latest development comes roughly two weeks after BlackRock's (BLK) iShares unit submitted paperwork for the iShares Bitcoin Trust.
This isn’t the first time Fidelity is filing for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The asset manager originally applied to launch the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in 2021. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected its application last year.
BlackRock filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF may have given some companies the confidence to follow a similar route. Invesco (IVZ) and WisdomTree have also filed for spot Bitcoin ETFs in addition to the recently filed application by Fidelity.
According to the paperwork, Fidelity has a surveillance-sharing agreement with an unnamed U.S. spot-based bitcoin trading platform. The purpose of the the agreement is to help the US regulator’s concerns about market manipulation.
There have been numerous spot Bitcoin ETF applications over the years. However, the US SEC has rejected all of them.
Despite the SEC rejecting all previous spot Bitcoin ETF applications, many investors within the crypto space are optimistic that the regulator would approve BlackRock's application. BlackRock has received a green light for all of its previous 575 ETF applications, except one.
