SEC Could Approve First-Ever U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETFs This Week

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) could make a decision regarding the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Tuesday or Wednesday, according to a report. Anticipation for the first-ever U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs intensified last week as prominent asset managers updated their filings with the SEC.

Applicants, including Blackrock, Vaneck, Valkyrie, Bitwise, Invesco, Fidelity, Wisdomtree, and the Ark Invest/21shares joint venture all submitted revised filings with the U.S. SEC on last Friday. The first deadline is Jan. 10 for the proposed spot bitcoin ETF by Ark Invest/21shares. Many people are expecting the securities regulator to approve multiple spot bitcoin ETFs by that date.

Citing people familiar with the filing process who spoke on background, Reuters reported last week: "The SEC may notify issuers as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday that they have been cleared to launch the following week."

Fee structures are also taking shape, with Valkyrie announcing a 0.80% management fee, echoing Ark/21shares' proposed rate. Fidelity, however, aims to undercut the competition with a remarkably low 0.39% fee for its Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund. Invesco, meanwhile, offers a 0.59% fee with a six-month waiver for the first $5 billion in assets.

Bitwise said in its filing on Friday that it plans to seed its spot bitcoin ETF with $200 million while Blackrock recently revealed a plan to seed its ETF with $10 million on Jan. 3. The world's largest asset manager has named JPMorgan as a lead authorized participant despite the negative stance consistently displayed by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon.