BlackRock reportedly close to filing for Bitcoin ETF | Invezz

BlackRock (NYSE: BLK), the global asset manager, is reportedly close to filing for a Bitcoin ETF.

As reported by CoinDesk, sources close to BlackRock have indicated that the world’s leading asset manager is looking to use Coinbase (NASDAQ: COIN) Custody. The ETF’s pricing will also be based on the spot market data from the US-based crypto exchange, the report cited an unnamed source familiar with the development.

The SEC hasn’t approved a single spot Bitcoin ETF

Whether the ETF will be a spot Bitcoin ETF or futures ETF wasn’t immediately clear. However, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is yet to approve any spot Bitcoin ETF in the US. But notably, the regulator has given a nod to several futures-based exchange-traded funds, including the ProShares Bitcoin futures ETF that was approved in October 2021.

In June 2022, the SEC disapproved Grayscale’s application that sought to convert the company’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) product to a spot Bitcoin ETF. Grayscale sued the agency and the case is yet to be determined.

News of BlackRock’s imminent pursuit of an exchange-traded fund comes at a time when the crypto market is battling a negative wave of regulatory headwinds. The outlook has particularly been exacerbated by recent moves by the SEC, to which BlackRock will submit the ETF application, to charge the two largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world Binance and Coinbase.

Cryptocurrency prices were mostly in the red today. Bitcoin, as well as Binance’s BNB and Coinbase’s COIN, have all traded lower in the past week due to the confluence of downside triggers – largely fueled by the SEC’s move and broader market reaction to macroeconomic news.