U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approval for spot-bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications is set to begin following the listing of all eight applicants on the Federal Register. The clock for the review process officially started on Wednesday after the filings were published on Tuesday. The Federal Register is the daily gazette of the U.S. government, containing important documents that must be published by law.
Last week, the SEC sought public consultations on the ETF applications. However, the review process could only begin with the official publication in the register. The clock is now ticking, giving the SEC a maximum of 45 days to either approve or extend the review period for each proposal.
Matt Hougan, Chief Investment Officer at Bitwise, stated in an email that “NYSE Arca’s 19b4 filing for the Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust was published in the Federal Register today. This starts the clock for the SEC to review that filing.” Hougan added that the Commission has the discretion to extend the review timeline if needed.
Although there are no guarantees of approval, the filing made by industry giant BlackRock has sparked speculation that the chances of permission being granted for these ETF applications may be higher. The inclusion of BlackRock, one of the largest investment management firms, has brought additional attention and credibility to the potential spot-bitcoin ETFs.
Investors and industry experts will be closely monitoring the SEC’s review process in the coming weeks. A spot-bitcoin ETF approval could have a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, attracting more institutional investors and potentially increasing market liquidity.