Analyst: SEC set to broadly approve Bitcoin ETF filings in January

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is set to approve the first spot Bitcoin ETFs around January 8–10. This view was expressed in The Scoop podcast by Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.

In his view, the SEC has strategically delayed filings to approve the majority of them at once, thereby avoiding giving any one issuer an advantage. This is why Seyffart is confident of broad approvals in January.

“The SEC does not want to pick favourites in these races, whether it is to obtain more assets or liquidity. … So, if the Commission is going to approve them, it will probably approve them all at once, because it does not want to play the role kingmaker,” the analyst explained.

An additional argument in favour of approving the bitcoin ETF is the Grayscale victory in court against the SEC in August. Seyffart said that the Commission has been backed into a corner by judges.

Earlier, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said that the agency is reassessing its approach to the instrument after “court decisions”. He said the regulator is currently reviewing between eight and twelve applications.

Earlier, on December 12, Seyffart said that over the past week, SEC officials discussed the bitcoin ETF with representatives from BlackRock, Grayscale, Franklin Templeton and Fidelity.

Hashdex analysts forecasted the start of trading the instrument in the second quarter of 2024.