The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, stock exchanges, and investment management companies reviewed final wording revisions on spot bitcoin ETF filings on Friday. This might result in the funds being approved for the first time in the United States the following week, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
Executives and representatives of five firms, who asked not to be identified because the meetings were confidential, said that issuers had discussions with SEC officials over the S-1 prospectus documents that each exchange-traded fund (ETF) needs to submit for approval.
Several issuers stated on Friday that they anticipate getting the go-ahead for their S-1 filings by late Tuesday or early Wednesday.
What three issuers referred to as “minor” modifications were sought by the SEC. To reveal fees or the names of the market makers for their ETFs, many asset managers are expected to make changes to their filings. These updates are expected by Monday at 8 a.m. and might be made public that day.
A spokeswoman for the SEC stated that the organization did not address specific filings.
Regulators and exchanges have been collaborating to complete 19b-4 filings, which outline the regulatory modifications that need to be approved by the SEC for spot bitcoin ETFs to begin trading. Exchanges submitted updates to 11 of those papers late on Friday.
As per those acquainted with the filing procedure, issuers that fulfilled the deadlines for end-of-year filing revisions could be permitted to begin operations by January 10, which is the deadline for the SEC to either accept or reject the Ark/21Shares ETF, which is the first fund in line.
Since 2013, several asset managers have requested authorization to introduce spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs); however, the SEC has denied these applications, citing concerns about potential market manipulation. Applications for spot bitcoin ETFs were filed by 14 companies last year, including WisdomTree, Fidelity, and BlackRock. The SEC is currently reviewing the applications.
The SEC has requested that issuers planning to launch next week also prepare formal proposals for the regulator to expedite the effective date for certain ETFs, a move that three issuers characterized as uncommon. Normally, issuers and regulators have more casual discussions about the date.
