Blackrock Files For A Bitcoin ETF As It Pushes For Crypto Adoption
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The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, has filed for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). This ETF will allow investors to have exposure to Bitcoin, as the asset comes under intense scrutiny by regulators.
BlackRock files for a Bitcoin ETF
The iShares Bitcoin Trust by BlackRock will use the Coinbase Custody service. The asset manager has already made a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The filing comes at a time when the SEC has intensified scrutiny over the cryptocurrency market. The US regulator has failed to approve any of the spot Bitcoin ETFs that have been filed by several crypto companies. The SEC has previously claimed that this financial product has a high risk of being manipulated.
In 2022, BlackRock unveiled a spot Bitcoin private trust targeting institutional clients across the United States. The filing also comes at a crucial time, given that the global cryptocurrency industry has been caught up in the crosshairs with the SEC as it alleges a violation of the securities laws.
The BlackRock ETF filing could bring crypto regulatory approval
BlackRock’s dominance in the asset management sector will see the company set significant precedence in the crypto space. The crypto industry has long complained of the lack of regulatory clarity in the US, but the recent regulatory filing by BlackRock could change this.
A report by Reuters quoted a crypto executive who said that BlackRock was a respected and established asset management company. The filing for a Bitcoin ETF was, therefore, a positive development in the search for crypto regulatory approval in the US. It also demonstrated that there was much public interest in the crypto sector.
A spot Bitcoin ETF tracks the underlying market price of Bitcoin. If this product is approved by the SEC, it will give US investors exposure to Bitcoin without them having to invest directly in the coin.
However, there is no certainty over whether the SEC will approve this application. Last year, the SEC rejected an application by Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset manager, to convert its spot Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETF.
Grayscale has since sued the SEC over the rejection of this product. The Grayscale lawsuit against the SEC claims that the regulator was biased in rejecting all the filed applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs while it had already approved Bitcoin futures ETFs. In late 2021, the SEC approved several Bitcoin futures products.
Some of the spot Bitcoin ETF applications that have been turned down by the SEC include those made by firms like Cboe Global Markets, Fidelity, and NYDIG. Some crypto firms have also filed for an Ethereum spot ETF unsuccessfully.
The SEC also appears to be intensifying its crackdown on the crypto market. The regulator has sued the two largest cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance and Coinbase. The SEC had also filed to have the assets of Binance US frozen. The charges against Coinbase allege that the exchange offered unregistered securities.
