BlackRock Joins Bitcoin Race: Files For Spot ETF, Can it Reach $100k?
• BlackRock, a trillion-dollar company, has applied for a Bitcoin spot ETF.
• The filing reveals that Coinbase Custody Trust Company will take custody of the Bitcoin holdings, while Bank of New York Mellon will take custody of the fiat.
• Grayscale recently sued SEC for rejecting its application for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund.
BlackRock Applies For Bitcoin Spot ETF
BlackRock, a trillion-dollar company, has joined the list of companies awaiting approval for the Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) after applying recently. Other companies expecting to become the first crypto spot ETF in the United States include Ark Investment and Grayscale. The filing by the Nasdaq stock exchange company with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that the fund’s Bitcoin holding would be in the custody of Coinbase Custody Trust Company while its fiat will be in custody of Bank of New York Mellon.
SEC Accused Of Non-Compliance
Coinbase, which is expected to take custody of the Bitcoin holdings, is currently flagged by the SEC as a non-compliant company. A Twitter user identified as “BranBTC” believes that this application would also be rejected just as all other applications have been due to zero approval rate thus far. There have been several applications for spot Bitcoin ETF but SEC has not approved any yet as it relies on underlying futures market to approve trust shares instead of regulating spot bitcoin markets directly.
Grayscale Sues SEC
Grayscale responded to all rejected applications by taking SEC to court over their rejection of its own application for a BTC spot exchange-traded fund. Former solicitor general Donald Verrilli Jr who represented Grayscale argued at District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals that SEC’s order is not in line with other approvals given before it despite relying on underlying futures market instead of regulating spot bitcoin markets directly like it did before this case came up.
Impact On BTC Price
It remains unknown if BlackRock’s attempt to obtain an ETF will succeed or not however if it does succeed it could help drive up BTC’s price significantly due to extra liquidity from institutional investors entering into crypto markets through an ETF product which could possibly drive prices as high as $100,000 per coin according to some experts and analysts close to this situation like John Kumi who wrote this report about Blackrock’s application in detail in June 2023 following news breaking out about them joining the list applying for an ETF alongside others like Ark Invest and Grayscale Investments LLC..
Conclusion
Despite previous rejections by SEC on many attempts made by different companies including Grayscale itself trying their luck on obtaining an ETF license, there is still hope that one day they may get lucky when another similar request comes along and succeeds where all others have failed so far because only then can we enjoy some serious liquidity coming our way from institutional investors entering into crypto markets through an approved product like Ethereum or Bitcoins very own Exchange Traded Fund (ETF). Until then we can only wait patiently until news breaks out about such a success story someday soon!