BlackRock, Valkyrie and others seek SEC approval for Bitcoin ETF

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BlackRock offices in New York. (Photo by Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)LightRocket via Getty Images

A slew of companies, including BlackRock, WisdomTree, and Valkyrie Investments, have submitted bitcoin ETF applications to the Securities and Exchange Commission over the past two weeks. Considering BlackRocks’ role as the world’s largest asset manager, their application may signal that the SEC is ready to approve a bitcoin ETF after years of failed attempts by companies like Grayscale.

On the other hand, bitcoin advocates like Joe Carlasare, a trade litigator, remain unconvinced that the SEC will budge in its previous bitcoin ETF rejections. There are also a number of bitcoin advocates who oppose the ETF structure entirely.

Don’t buy the ETF! Buy bitcoin directly and hold the keys, Joe Kelly, co-founder and CEO of Unchaineds, told me in an interview. Kelly says the most important feature of bitcoins is the elimination of middlemen, which an ETF product would unnecessarily reintroduce.

The BlackRock ETF will introduce multiple layers of counterparty risk…its [our] collaborative custody option that mitigates risk, Kelly said.

Regardless of the SEC’s final decision or the bitcoin community’s sentiments regarding self-custody, these ETF applications are a strong signal of growing interest and demand for bitcoin exposure. Investors seem to be taking notice as well, with bitcoin prices rising steadily since BlackRock’s announcement.

Should the newly approved ETFs signal greater institutional acceptance of digital assets as a promising new asset class, ETFs would be available just in time for the upcoming bitcoin halving event, which is expected to occur next April in 2024. The halving cuts newly issued bitcoin to miners in half, an event that occurs roughly every four years.

Bitcoin advocates have long argued that the halving is the start of bull markets. As macro conditions appear to be softening following the Fed’s rate hike pause, financial markets are awaiting any sign of a pivot. The combination of the ETF approval, bitcoin halving, and Fed pivot could create a perfect storm of circumstances that some market analysts believe could trigger bitcoin’s next bull run.

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I’m a freelance writer exploring the Bitcoin ecosystem. My work has been published by Bitcoin Magazine and Bitcoin News. I am personally invested in bitcoin and am fascinated by the emerging bitcoin economy.

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