If the regulator approves the application, it will be the first such ETF in the U.S.. However, many companies have filed similar applications, but the SEC continues to reject them.<br
According to the document, Coinbase Custody Trust Company will be the custodial service to hold the assets of the fund’s clients, and the Bank of New York Mellon will hold the fiat funds. The fund will be managed by a subsidiary of BlackRock iShares and called iShares Bitcoin Trust. The price of the underlying asset will be updated “at least” once every 15 seconds. The CF Benchmarks index will be used for this.
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“This fund is designed to remove the obstacles and operational complexities associated with direct investments in bitcoin,” the application notes.
Interestingly, BlackRock’s lawyers state in their document that previously approved products traded on the spot exchange in the commodity and currency markets are “generally unregulated and the SEC relies on the futures market.”. Therefore, the company sees no obstacles to approving such a spot ETF:
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“A regulated market of significant size does not require regulation of the bitcoin spot market for the Commission to approve this proposal.”
Recall that last August BlackRock launched its own spot investment fund on BTC. In essence, it is a full analogue of the ETF, but it is only available to institutional investors from the United States.