There have been about 30 tries for a spot-bitcoin product, according to a tally from Bloomberg Intelligence. But applications have faced opposition by regulators, who have in the past cited market concerns and a lack of investor protections, among other things. Fidelity originally filed for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in 2021, which was denied by the SEC in January 2022, according to a Fidelity spokesperson.
Even so, BlackRock’s move spurred a number of similar filings from other issuers, including by Invesco, WisdomTree, Valkyrie and Bitwise. Meanwhile, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management has said that it believes it could be first in line to get any potential regulatory approval. ARK had in April, in conjunction with crypto-issuer 21Shares, re-filed its application for one.
Fans of digital assets are excited about the prospect of crypto potentially becoming more easily accessible to everyday investors, and the wave of filings has been a boon for token prices.
Bitcoin jumped back above $US30,000 in June and is trading at its highest levels in about a year. The token was trading around $US30,500 near 5.15am AEST on Friday. That’s still less than half the record of almost $US69,000 reached in November 2021.
To be sure, this isn’t the first hype-cycle over a potential launch. Crypto fans, who have been yearning for a spot-bitcoin ETF for years, have been through periods of excitement before, only for regulators to ultimately rebuff all attempts.
While BlackRock’s filing was credited by observers for helping to push the price of Bitcoin to a one-year high last week, the market reaction to the Fidelity refiling was fairly muted.
Bloomberg
