SEC discussing ‘key technical details’ with spot crypto ETF applicants: Report

Officials with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission are reportedly discussing aspects of Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds, or ETFs, proposed by asset managers.

According to a Dec. 7 Reuters report, industry insiders said the SEC and certain asset managers were discussing “key technical details” related to U.S. exchanges listing shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF. To date, the commission has never given the green light to any spot cryptocurrency exchange-traded product, instead postponing decisions on applications for the maximum allowable time.

Memos released by the SEC in November showed the commission separately met with representatives of BlackRock and Grayscale. Both asset managers and Hashdex, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck and Fidelity have filed for spot BTC or Ether (ETH) ETF listings.

“The expected approval of the ETF will be positive news for the crypto market, likely leading to significant growth,” said Mercuryo senior legal counsel Adam Berker. “With ETFs getting the go-ahead, a wider range of TradFi investors will have simplified access to crypto assets. With major entities such as Fidelity and BlackRock endorsing this product, substantial institutional capital is expected to flow into the market.”

Related: BlackRock received $100K seed funds for Bitcoin ETF — SEC filing

It’s unclear whether the SEC will ultimately reach a decision to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart speculated that should the commission decide to support one, it could move forward with simultaneous approvals of funds from multiple firms in January.

Many in and out of the crypto space have criticized SEC Chair Gary Gensler for his approach to treating certain tokens as securities. The commission has ongoing lawsuits against Terraform Labs, Ripple, Coinbase and Binance.

Magazine: Expect ‘records broken’ by Bitcoin ETF: Brett Harrison (ex-FTX US), X Hall of Flame