The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems more than likely to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, according to a recent report. The regulator rejected every petition for the financial instrument, but the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, changed it all.
Bitcoin ETF, A Question Of When Not If?
Per Bloomberg Intelligence Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) expert Eric Balchunas, the BlackRock and Invesco Bitcoin ETF petitions will get approved. The expert quoted Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz that based his information on inside sources within the Commission.
Novogratz stated the following on an earnings call today, August 8th:
It’s a big deal, because both our contacts from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side gets you to think that this is a question of when, not if, that the outside window this is probably six months. And so you’re—kind of your four to six month, if you had to put a pin the tail on the donkey audit.
In addition, Balchunas highlighted Novogratz’s statements on the world post-Bitcoin ETF. If BlackRock’s petition gets approved, others will likely follow and launch in the North American country.
The Big Fight To Come If A Spot Bitcoin ETF Gets Approval
The Galaxy CEO believes asset managers must “fight like cats and dogs for mkt share.” BlackRock and its top executive could already be anticipating this fight.
Thus, its top executives, including Larry Fink, are giving interviews about Bitcoin, its benefits, and the potential benefits of a spot Bitcoin ETF for US citizens. Fink seemingly has so much fate in Bitcoin than recommended people to invest in the cryptocurrency over gold:
I do believe the world of crypto its digitizing gold in many ways; instep of investing in gold as a hedge against inflation, a hedge against the honorous promises of any one country, or the devaluation of your currency, whatever country you are in, let’s be clear: Bitcoin is an international asset (…).
The above could also be part of BlackRock’s marketing for its own BTC spot ETF. This strategy could make all the difference for this and other asset managers when taking over market share if the financial product gets approved.
On this possibility, Balchunas claims that the odds stand 75% to 25% in favor of approval. The expert gave this same odds to the futures Bitcoin ETF launched in the country in September 2021.
Cover image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview