Cboe Fidelity Spot Bitcoin ETF Approves Registration to List – No SEC Approval Yet

US-based exchange Cboe has accepted the application to list a single-site Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund offered by Fidelity Investments.

In a Jan. 3 filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund said it intends to list its shares in securities listed on the Cboe BZX exchange. Although a Form 8-A filing is part of the process of registering an ETF with the SEC, it does not necessarily indicate that the Commission will approve the investment vehicle.

“My understanding here is that this is just a securities registration,” Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert said on X (formerly Twitter). “To list an ETF still requires 19b-4 approval and they need an effective/verified/completed S-1 document. No 19b-4 yet.” […] I'm still looking forward to next week. “

Seyfert pointed to the Dec. 29 filing of Bitwise's position as a Bitcoin ETF with NYSE Arca, but both filings “don't mean they've been approved — yet,” according to the analyst. Volatility Shares Trust filed a Form 8-A with the SEC earlier in June before starting to list shares of a bitcoin futures ETF used on the Cboe BZX exchange.

“A lie will be halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to put on its pants” or something.

— James Seyff (@JSeyff) January 3, 2024

Many on social media seemed confused by the difference between the Bitcoin ETF's full SEC approval and US exchange registration. Some experts, including Seifert, have speculated that the commission could approve multiple spot BTC exchange-traded product applications ahead of the Jan. 10 deadline from ARK Invest and 21Shares, a crypto investment vehicle.

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Despite many applications from asset managers Bitwise, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie and VanEck, the SEC has never approved a BTC exchange to list and trade on a US exchange. In June 2023, BlackRock — a firm with nearly $9 trillion in assets under management — filed for a Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

While the SEC has yet to approve any crypto ETF, it has given the green light to investment vehicles linked to BTC and Ether (ETH) futures. Many in the industry have suggested that approving a position in a Bitcoin ETF could boost crypto adoption and boost the adoption of blockchain technology.

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