SEC Accepts Proposal for Review
With the application on the SEC docket, members of the public will have 21 days to comment on Valkyrie’s proposal.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has accepted Valkyrie’s application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and will now continue with an official review. The proposal, which was filed confidentially in June 2023, was revealed on July 17 after the Nasdaq stock exchange refiled for a proposed rule change allowing the listing of the Bitcoin ETF.
The proposal acceptance follows within a week of the SEC’s acceptance of Blackrock’s ETF application. Recall that on June 15, BlackRock filed an application for a Bitcoin spot ETF with the SEC. The filing proposed Coinbase as the crypto custodian and BNY Mellon as the cash custodian.
Following Blackrock’s filing, several companies, including WisdomTree, Invesco, and Valkyrie also refiled their previously rejected filings.
Valkyrie’s Initial Spot Bitcoin ETF Filing
The Nashville-based crypto asset management firm, Valkyrie, filed its first application for a Spot Bitcoin ETF in January 2021, under the ticker BTF. Co-founder and CIO of Valkyrie Investments Steven McClurg had expressed optimism about their chances. However, about 11 months later, the SEC rejected the filing alongside applications from Wisdom Tree, Krypton, and Global X.
Since then, the SEC has gone on to reject many Bitcoin ETF applications. In fact, the SEC has not approved any spot Bitcoin ETFs despite multiple applications. Instead, the regulator has cited concerns about market manipulation, fraud, and investor protection as reasons for its rejections or delays.
Optimism Over the New Filing
Valkyrie resubmitted its Bitcoin ETF application days after BlackRock’s ETF proposal application. Like BlackRock, it also enlisted Coinbase as its surveillance-sharing partner. The Bitcoin ETF is listed under the ticker ‘BRRR’. Unlike the firm’s existing BTF fund, this fund will be leveraged.
With the application on the SEC docket, members of the public will have 21 days to comment on Valkyrie’s proposal. Following this, the SEC can then decide to approve, reject, or extend its review of Valkyrie’s proposal. It may also request more information from the company before making a decision.
If approved, Valkyrie’s Bitcoin ETF would be the first of its kind in the US and could attract significant demand from investors. However, there is no guarantee that the SEC will change its stance on spot Bitcoin ETFs anytime soon, as it has been historically cautious and conservative on crypto-related products.
Regardless of the approval, Bitcoin rallied after several firms submitted their Bitcoin ETF applications. However, at the time of writing, Bitcoin was hovering around $29, 995 according to CoinMarketCap.
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An experienced writer with practical experience in the fintech industry. When not writing, he spends his time reading, researching or teaching.
