SEC Adds Blackrock's Application for A Bitcoin ETF to Docket

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially accepted Blackrock's spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) application. As long as it is published in the Federal Register, the SEC will open a 21-day window to seek public opinions on the proposal, which will be posted on its website.

On Thursday, the application was added to the SEC's review directory, marking the beginning of a long review process, and the crypto community and industry will pay close attention to it. Blackrock is the largest asset management company in the world and the SEC's consideration of its bitcoin ETF sends a signal about the future of crypto-based investment products in the United States.

Blackrock submitted its application in mid-June when the SEC was cracking down crypto platforms, citing these platforms allegedly violated U.S. securities laws through offering digital assets that the regulator considers unregistered securities.

The leading cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, one of the targeted companies, was selected by the asset management company as custodian of its Ishares Bitcoin Trust, whose assets are mainly composed of Bitcoin. Blackrock's filing contains a surveillance-sharing agreement with Coinbase.

SEC has previously refused to approve Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. for many times, because the regulator worries about the risk of market manipulation and insufficient investor protection.

In addition to Blackrock, other companies filing applications for launching spot Bitcoin ETFs include Bitwise, Wisdom Tree, Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, Vaneck, Invesco, and Fidelity. Bitwise's application was also accepted earlier this week.

The number of applications, along with Blackrock’s position as a financial giant, have brought optimism in the crypto industry that a bitcoin ETF will be approved in the United States, something that Canada, for example, has already done.

The Financial Times reported on Thursday that Europe is expected to launch its first Bitcoin ETF by the end of July. The product is on course to be publicly listed by Jacobi Asset Management after a year-long delay, and has been authorized in the Channel island jurisdiction of Guernsey to avoid regulatory barriers in the EU.

(source: Bitcoin.com)