There’s never a dull moment in the world of crypto and this story has been 10 years in the making since the first filing of a Bitcoin ETF. There was a court case, a hacked social media account, a frenzy of anticipation, but finally it came with news coming through last week that the SEC had approved all 11 Bitcoin ETF applications. But, what happens next?
Bitcoin or Bust
SEC approval of a Bitcoin is likely to have a positive impact for sure, but is it really going to cause the underlying price to skyrocket? For those who forget, Bitcoin ETFs already exist in a number of countries so a Bitcoin ETF is not exactly new.
Back to school time
Coming back after the summer break always reminds us of the return to school, those dreaded back to school adverts, buying school uniforms and getting new books for the year ahead. Yuck
For those of you shuffling back into the office you missed out on last week’s big news. Grayscale gave the SEC a bloody nose and the price of Bitcoin took a jump as a result. High drama indeed. Who said summer was always a quiet time.
US Bitcoin ETF application frenzy reminds us of Jaws
It has been wild since BlackRock submitted its application for a Bitcoin ETF. Seemingly, BlackRock received some pushback from the SEC, but crucially the SEC issued guidance around what they have a problem with which has not led to a bunch of managers revising their filing and resubmitting.
Can crypto ETPs make a comeback?
Crypto ETPs are having a tough run of it. There is an oversupply of some products e.g. Bitcoin ETPs, flows are weak, the SEC is proving stubborn in their stance and the market is blighted with bad actors. So, not really that surprising to see 21Shares close a couple of funds this week. We are sure others will follow.
More regulatory reviews of index providers
A regulatory review of index providers by the U.S. SEC seems to have jumped the pond.
Now the IOSCO has launched a consultation looking into the relationship between European asset managers and index providers in an effort to uncover possible conflicts of interest.
The SEC to review revenue sharing in the U.S.
In the U.S., the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement division, SEC has launched an investigation on revenue sharing between ETF issuers and intermediaries. And a busy week of global ETF launches including the first spot Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs to launch in Australia.
