Novogratz Says SEC Could Approve Spot Bitcoin ETF by February 2024

The first spot-based Bitcoin ETF (ETF) could win approval in the United States by around February 2024. Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz said this, citing sources at BlackRock and Invesco.

During a second-quarter earnings conference call, Galaxy Digital founder Mike Novogratz told shareholders:

“This is a very important moment, because our contacts at Invesco and BlackRock give you the ability to suppose that this is a matter of when, not if. The window is likely six months.”

In his view, the SEC will approve a Bitcoin ETF within four to six months.

In June BlackRock filed an application to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. Following this, Galaxy, in partnership with the asset manager Invesco (which manages WisdomTree assets), as well as Valkyrie Investments and Fidelity Investments, did the same. Since April, the regulator has been reviewing a similar request from ARK Invest and 21Shares.

So far the SEC has not granted any approvals for launching spot Bitcoin ETFs. The Commission has granted an exception for futures-based products on the first cryptocurrency from ProShares and Valkyrie Investments.

Bernstein analysts and former SEC chairman Jay Clayton assessed the odds of a new wave of contenders as high.

In early August, Bloomberg analyst James Seiffart raised the odds of regulator approval for a spot Bitcoin fund to 65%. A few months earlier, the analyst believed it would not exceed 1%.

ARK Invest CEO Cathie Wood predicted a positive SEC ruling on several applications at once.

Regulators have also received six requests to launch Ethereum futures-based ETFs.