Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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Asset management firm BlackRock has filed for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
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The US SEC has rejected numerous ETF applications in the last few years.
iShares Files Paperwork For A Spot Bitcoin ETF
The iShares unit of fund management giant BlackRock (BLK) has filed for paperwork with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for the formation of a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF.
The fund management giant filed this paperwork on Thursday. In its filing, the firm said the exchange-traded fund would be named the iShares Bitcoin Trust, and its assets are to consist primarily of bitcoin held by a custodian on behalf of the Trust. The custodian of the fund will be crypto exchange Coinbase, iShares revealed.
The US SEC has rejected numerous spot Bitcoin ETFs in the past, including those filed by Grayscale, VanEck, and WisdomTree. However, the regulatory agency has approved a number of futures-based bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock is now the biggest company that has filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF. It is the world’s largest asset management firm and currently controls over $10 trillion in assets under management.
While commenting on this filing, Sui Chung, CEO of CF Benchmarks, a subsidiary of crypto exchange Kraken, stated that;
"The proposed ETF is benchmarked against the CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate. CF Benchmarks takes price data exclusively from cryptocurrency exchanges that adhere to the highest possible standards of market integrity and transparency. This protects investors as products benchmarked against it can then consistently and reliably track the spot price of the underlying asset. BlackRock’s increasing engagement shows Bitcoin continues to be an asset of interest for some of the world’s largest financial institutions."
This latest development comes at a time when the SEC is cracking down on cryptocurrency companies. The regulatory agency filed lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase earlier this month for allegedly breaking securities laws.
