A former executive at global investment titan BlackRock says US regulators will likely give their nod to all spot Bitcoin () exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications at once.
During a panel discussion at CCData’s Digital Asset Summit in London, ex-BlackRock managing director Martin Bednall, who is now the CEO of Jacobi Asset Management, that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has a compelling reason to greenlight the applications simultaneously.
“In terms of the question about a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, I think it’s going to be hugely positive and that’s because I think the SEC will probably approve all the applications at the same time.
I don’t think they’re going to want to give anybody a first-mover advantage and I think that is because BlackRock is there in the mix and it’s a behemoth. They will put a lot of their power behind it in terms of sales and distribution to really make sure that they get the sort of go-to ETF, the default ETF.”
Steven Schoenfeld, former managing director at Barclays Global Investors, which was later acquired by BlackRock, says during the discussion that the SEC’s approval will likely happen sooner than he previously anticipated.
“Two weeks ago, I would have said nine to 12 months away… but sitting here today, I’d say it’s closer to three to six months.”
Schoenfeld, who is now the CEO of MarketVector Indexes, says there are signs indicating a positive outlook for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US.
“It was just last week, the SEC, instead of completely rejecting the whole list, they’ve actually asked for comments, which is a marginal but significant improvement in the dialogue. There’s also the Grayscale lawsuit — which the SEC lost, which means they’re most likely going to have to allow the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to be converted into an ETF. I don’t think the SEC wants that to happen and then have the ETF filings still waiting.”
