Cathy Wood’s ARK Reportedly ‘First in Line’ for Spot Bitcoin ETF

ARK Investment Management, a pro-Bitcoin (BTC) firm founded by veteran investor Cathy Wood, is reportedly leading the race to spot BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

In mid-June, investment firm BlackRock filed an application for the Spot Bitcoin ETF, generating notable optimism in the cryptocurrency markets.

Several reports suggested that BlackRock could become the first issuer of a spot bitcoin ETF in the United States should it be approved, but according to some executives and analysts, that may not happen.

“Other applicants will be able to amend their filings with similar agreements at a lower cost,” ARK analyst Yassin Elmandjra reportedly said. Said,

Elmandjra highlighted that ARK and European asset manager 21Shares filed an application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot bitcoin ETF in April. “Now it’s the only one ahead of BlackRock,” he said.

More industry observers, including Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seifert, also argued that ARK and 21Shares should be ahead of anyone for a spot bitcoin ETF.

“21Shares, ARK and Cboe (Chicago Board Options Exchange) are first in line as their next SEC decision date is August 13, 2023, and we do not yet have a date for other 19b-4 applications like BlackRock. ,” Seifert said.

BlackRock’s filing for the iShares Bitcoin Trust has started a wave of re-active bitcoin ETF filings. Companies such as crypto fund managers Valkyrie, WisdomTree and Invesco have reapplied for spot bitcoin ETFs, as well as reportedly Bitwise trying Again for the BTC ETF.

“And our bullish case for spot bitcoin ETF approval can basically be summarized in four words: ‘What does BlackRock know?’” Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg wrote on Twitter. Nate Geraci, co-founder of the ETF Institute, took to Twitter on June 26 to express similar sentiments.

Several industry observers have highlighted the timing of BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF filing, with some alleging that the firm may have insider information regarding the SEC’s BTC ETF policies.

new t-shirts drop through @ericbalchunas,

I will say, it seems hard to believe that this is all a coincidence:

BlackRock Files for Spot BTC ETF

4 other issuers quickly followed

EDX crypto exchange launched (backed by Fidelity, Schwab, etc.)

2X Leveraged BTC Futures ETF Allowed by SEC pic.twitter.com/5CfG7ThcLg

— Nate Geraci (@NateGeraci) 26 June 2023

Despite growing optimism over the potential arrival of spot bitcoin ETFs to the US market, many experts believe that such products are not coming in the near future.

Wade Guenther, partner at Wilshire Phoenix, told Cointelegraph that the SEC is unlikely to approve a spot bitcoin ETF in 2023 because there hasn’t been much progress since the Winklevoss twins applied for it in 2017.

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“There hasn’t really been much development since the first time many of these sponsors filed their initial spot bitcoin ETFs,” Guenther said.

“We do not believe that the Spot Bitcoin ETF will be available to the public anytime soon as there is still some time to review. So it may not be until next year, potentially the year after that, that we could see a spot bitcoin ETF.”

Previously, ETF Institute co-founder Nate Geraci Predicted That the world will not see a spot bitcoin ETF until 2023.

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