The SEC was the first to officially accept an application from race favorite Blackrock, followed by Valkyrie. Later, the regulator confirmed applications from Bitwise, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity and Invesco. The confirmation has already appeared in the Federal Register.
Earlier, the SEC rejected dozens of spot EFT applications for bitcoin, saying the offerings did not meet anti-fraud standards and did not protect investors in any way. But the Nasdaq Stock exchange said it would address those concerns with the help of Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.
Brokerage Bernstein recently published a report saying that the likelihood of regulator approval of a spot bitcoin ETF is quite high. However, brokers say the SEC may also reject it, citing the product’s unreliability;
Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton believes regulators will have a “hard time resisting” approval of a spot bitcoin ETF. He believes the SEC will first have to be convinced: the product can prove its effectiveness in the marketplace.