The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began publishing updates regarding Bitcoin spot ETFs on January 8.
As of 05:45 on January 9 (Vietnam time), the SEC’s national securities trading site has listed amendments to eight 19b-4 filings detailing proposed changes.
Six of those updated filings relate to proposed rule changes through which the Cboe BZX exchange plans to list and trade ETFs from WisdomTree, VanEck, Ark Invest, Franklin Templeton, Fidelity and Invesco Galaxy. Another amendment involves NASDAQ planning to list and trade the Valkyrie Bitcoin ETF, while NYSE Arca intends to list and trade the Hashdex ETF.
Currently, there are around 10+ registered companies looking for a spot Bitcoin ETF, which means other modifications could come later.
The latest amendments largely address previous issues, including concerns about whether the relevant market is too large, and introduce arrangements to share supervision and prevent manipulation. market distress.
Each announcement indicates that the exchanges submitted the relevant amendment to the SEC on Friday, January 5. Previous reports from Bloomberg had suggested a similar timeline ahead of an expected approval date of around Wednesday, January 10.
S-1 amendments were also filed on Monday
Several Bitcoin ETF spot registrants filed additional amended registration statements including forms S-1/A and 8-A12B on January 8.
BlackRock’s latest S-1 update specifically highlights the lack of immediate in-kind creations and redemptions, which would allow certain ETF transactions to be conducted in Bitcoin instead of fiat face.
“The timing of in-kind regulatory approval is unknown, and there is no assurance that NASDAQ will receive approval at any point in the future. If NASDAQ receives in-kind Regulatory Approval and if the Sponsor elects to authorize in-kind creation and redemption, the Trust will then notify the holder.”
The S-1 registration statement from BlackRock and other firms also contains new information including details on fees and seed funding.
Most companies submitted nearly complete S-1 amendments on or before the December 29, 2023 deadline. Thus, the latest modifications do not change too much the structure of each application but instead mainly add new details.
VanEck bought 1.640 BTC
VanEck’s filings show that the company purchased Bitcoin on January 5, equivalent to 1,450,000 shares for The price per share is 50 USD. In total, the trust received 1,640.92489329 Bitcoin, which was delivered on January 5. The trust’s BTC holdings are worth $73.8 million as of now.
Additionally, Bitwise’s amended S-1 filing the same day revealed that Pantera Capital is the investor behind its $200 million seed fund. Bitwise itself has spent $500,000 on the proposed ETF. Pantera’s commitment is non-binding and is contingent upon SEC approval of the ETF.
Meanwhile, BlackRock and Fidelity announced smaller seed funds of $10 million and $20 million for their respective ETFs. According to their latest filing, BlackRock purchased 227.9 BTC on January 5. It is unclear whether Fidelity will buy Bitcoin for its ETF.
The large amount of BTC launched by VanEck and Bitwise is the premise for fierce competition between these fund managers when the products are launched.
Competition is heating up
The competitive nature in the ETF space is further demonstrated by the diverse fee structures offered by different companies.
Ark Invest and 21 Shares announced yesterday that they have cut fees from 0.8% to 0.25%, while also waiving these fees for the first six months or the first $1 billion in assets . Similarly, VanEck also sets a fee of 0.25%.
BlackRock has introduced a fee structure starting at 0.2% for the first 12 months or for the initial $5 billion in its ETF, which will then increase to 0.3%.
Meanwhile, Bitwise is implementing a fee-free policy for the first six months before moving to a 0.24% fee. Other asset managers, including Wisdomtree, Invesco Galaxy, Fidelity, Valkyrie, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton, have fees ranging from 0.39% to 0.9%.
Grayscale currently has a top fee of 2% but plans to reduce it to 1.5%, according to the amended S-1 filing.
These varied fees reflect each company’s strategy to attract investors in a market that increasingly recognizes cryptocurrencies as a legitimate and attractive asset class.
The approval of these spot Bitcoin ETFs could herald a new era of mainstream crypto investing, providing regulated investment vehicles that align with traditional asset classes. This will likely attract institutional investors and retail, pouring billions of dollars into the digital asset space and possibly pushing prices higher.
