SEC began collecting public feedback on the spot Bitcoin-ETF. Lawyer Scott Johnson saw in this a signal that the regulator could approve all applications for the instrument at once by January 10, 2024.
They might have chosen to do this early so they could have the comment period end before Jan 10, in order to approve everyone at the same time. https://t.co/L5q65I6EDa
— Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) November 28, 2023
The SEC took this step after delaying the decision on proposals from Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. Representatives of the latter took the agency’s wishes into account and have already updated their filing.
The agency explained the initiative as an effort to assess whether the product meets the requirement of “preventing fraudulent and manipulative practices and protecting investors”.
“The collection of comments does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions on any of the issues touched upon. Rather, the SEC … encourages interested parties to submit their views on the proposed rule change,” — the document said.
Comments on both applications must be submitted within 21 days, after which the agency will have two weeks to respond with counterarguments.
“Wow. With the Franklin decision coming earlier than the deadline, the SEC may be gearing up for a broad wave of approvals in early January. Is that why?” — Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart.
Update: Wow. SEC went super early on Franklin. They weren’t due for another decision until Jan 1. Notably Franklin is the only issuer who didn’t submit an updated S-1 yet. Wonder if that has any impact here. https://t.co/go4K1wSTpw pic.twitter.com/bA6aULvPCd
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 28, 2023
The expert noted the similarity of the wording in the revised Franklin S-1 with proposals from other firms regarding the creation/redemption process.
Notably, the language in this S-1 mimics a lot of others on the creation/redemption process. Leaves open the possibility for both In-kind and/or Cash. pic.twitter.com/LtlVAH9ydD
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) November 28, 2023
Earlier in November, representatives of the Commission and BlackRock held a meeting, during which they discussed the details of a spot bitcoin ETF based on the first cryptocurrency.
Previously the regulator met with the leadership of Grayscale to discuss converting their Bitcoin Trust into an exchange-traded fund.