SEC Imposes Deadline for Spot Bitcoin ETF Applicants in Latest Breaking News
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has made significant progress in the approval process for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) scheduled for January 2024. In a highly anticipated move, the SEC has announced that only firms that submit their final S-1 amendment forms by the December 29, 2023 deadline will be considered for the first wave of potential spot Bitcoin ETF issuers.
The SEC has emphasized the importance of meeting the cutoff date for submissions. Any applicant failing to submit their final amendments by the deadline will not be included in the initial wave. The SEC has confirmed this date and has informed issuers that applications that are fully completed and filed by Friday will be considered for the first wave. Those who do not meet the deadline will not be considered. Additionally, the filings must not contain any errors.
One significant development in the SEC’s approach is the elimination of the ‘in-kind’ creation model. The SEC has actively engaged with all applicants and has urged them to remove any ‘in-kind’ directives from their spot Bitcoin ETF prospectuses. Instead, companies are now required to follow the “Cash Creates” redemption model.
BlackRock and Bitwise have taken the lead by submitting their S-1 amendment forms on December 4, 2023. VanEck joined them on December 8 by submitting its fifth S-1 amendment form. Other applicants, including Grayscale, had already submitted their amendments in November of this year.
The financial industry is closely monitoring the SEC’s stance on the Prime Execution Agent model, as this may necessitate adjustments to filings from companies like BlackRock. This signifies a notable shift towards a more proactive approach to cryptocurrencies, deviating from the SEC’s traditionally conservative stance.
The crypto market is buzzing with excitement and anticipation as we await further updates and the potential approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for more breaking news on this groundbreaking development in the world of digital assets.