Representatives of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently had discussions with several companies regarding the potential launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Among the participants in these meetings were esteemed investment firms such as BlackRock, Grayscale Investments, ARK Investments, and 21 Shares. People familiar with the discussions have revealed that at least two of these companies have been advised to make final modifications to their proposals by the end of next week.
In addition to these discussions, the SEC has announced that it will extend the review period for a proposed rule change that would enable the listing and trading of Invesco Galaxy Ethereum ETF shares on the Cboe BZX exchange.
The SEC has also set a deadline of December 29 for companies involved in the meetings to finalize their filings. Failure to meet this deadline will likely result in those companies not being considered for ETF approval in early January. Furthermore, a joint proposal from ARK Investments and 21 Shares, currently under consideration, must be accepted by January 10. There is speculation that the SEC may approve multiple applications in the period leading up to this deadline.
Representatives from the Nasdaq and Cboe exchanges, where the new Bitcoin ETFs will be traded, were also present in the discussions.
It is worth noting that the SEC has previously rejected various applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns about market manipulation. So far, the Commission has only approved Bitcoin and Ethereum futures ETFs linked to contracts traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.