In an interview with Bloomberg, Catherine Wood said the U.S. regulator could give the green light to several companies applying to launch bitcoin ETFs at once. Although Wood was previously confident that ARK Investment would be the first to get approval to launch this long-awaited investment product. Wood said the emergence of several exchange-traded funds tied to bitcoin would create a “gaming arena” for products worth more than $50 billion.
BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, VanEck and Invesco have filed similar applications to launch cryptocurrency ETFs. Wood believes that because of the similarities of these funds, the success of each will depend on the companies’ marketing efforts. In addition, Wood suggested that the SEC may extend its review of ARK Invest’s application. The financial regulator has until Aug. 13 to approve, reject or defer the application. Given that the company filed in May 2023, the SEC has a maximum of 240 days to make a final decision before January 2024.
Wood added that the “path of least resistance” for the SEC would be to simultaneously approve spot bitcoin ETFs, especially if Grayscale Investments wins its lawsuit against the regulator. In late June, Grayscale sued the SEC after the agency refused to allow the company to convert the GBTC fund into an ETF.
Catherine Wood previously suggested that the SEC is unlikely to approve a bitcoin ETF before the first cryptocurrency’s market capitalization hits $2 trillion.