SEC Finds 'No Grounds' to Deny Conversion of Bitcoin ETF, Grayscale Says

SEC Postpones Spot Bitcoin ETF Decision for All Applicants, Including BlackRock and Fidelity

Ether Futures ETFs on the Verge of U.S. Approval, Bloomberg Reports

Fidelity, the prominent asset management giant, has submitted new documentation for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The decision comes about two weeks following the submission of documents by BlackRock's (BLK) iShares division for the iShares Bitcoin Trust, which is also a spot bitcoin ETF. Fidelity initially applied to introduce the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in 2021, but the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected that attempt in 2022.

Since BlackRock's spot ETF filing in June, a wave of other fund companies, such as Invesco (IVZ) and WisdomTree, have followed suit. Furthermore, recent reports suggest that Fidelity is on the verge of submitting its own spot ETF filing.

In addition to the BlackRock filing, Fidelity's recent documentation also features a "surveillance sharing agreement" with an undisclosed U.S.-based bitcoin trading platform, aimed at addressing the SEC's concerns regarding market manipulation.

Furthermore, Fidelity highlighted the losses incurred by cryptocurrency participants due to the insolvencies of custodians and centralized exchanges, emphasizing that the availability of a vehicle like a spot bitcoin ETF would have safeguarded "numerous investors."

To date, the SEC has yet to render a verdict on any of the recent applications. While there is a prevailing sense of optimism surrounding BlackRock's application, considering its successful track record with 575 ETF applications (with only one exception), there are still skeptics who maintain reservations.

On a podcast Monday, Townsend Lansing, the chief product officer of CoinShares, expressed his belief that there is a 10% probability of BlackRock's application being approved. He stated that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is primarily interested in ensuring that the majority of bitcoin trading occurs on a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States.

The news has had minimal impact on the price of bitcoin (BTC), which remains steady at $30,500.