SEC Officials Reconnect With Spot Bitcoin ETF Filers

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has held a new round of discussions with asset managers who have proposed a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, this time they will participate in meetings with Gary Gensler's office officials.

According to court records, the regulator received representatives from BlackRock on December 14 to discuss a change in the law that would allow the crypto investment vehicle to be traded on major exchanges. According to Bloomberg EFF analyst Jaime Seifert, this is the third meeting between BlackRock and the SEC to review the application.

Meetings between asset managers and the SEC have intensified in recent weeks. On Dec. 8, Grayscale and Franklin Templeton also sat down with regulators to review their filings, a day after Fidelity's representatives appeared before the SEC.

BlackRock met with the SEC yesterday. This time from the Gensler folks/staff pic.twitter.com/shDiZPidPe

— James Seyff (@JSeyff) December 15, 2023

In late November, Chairman Gensler's staff met with the Hashdex team to address concerns about market manipulation and investor protection. In particular, the discussion focused on cash innovations and the use of redemptions, as well as the acquisition of bitcoins from physical exchanges in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) market, Cointelegraph has learned.

Several large asset managers are planning to launch Bitcoin ETFs, including WisdomTree, BlackRock, Invesco, Fidelity and Grayscale. Over the years, the SEC has rejected similar proposals. Now, the regulator is pushing the next decision to early January, which is the deadline for most applicants.

After approval, the largest cryptocurrency will be traded on Wall Street's major exchanges, opening up bitcoin to a wider audience of investors backed by the world's most influential investment firms. If rejected, investment managers can appeal the ruling, further extending the protection.

A Bitcoin ETF directly tracks the market price of Bitcoin, holding actual Bitcoin. Its value reflects the value of the BTC it owns. Conversely, a Bitcoin futures ETF invests in Bitcoin futures contracts, which are agreements on the future price of Bitcoin, rather than holding the cryptocurrency itself. SEC Approves First Bitcoin Futures ETF in 2021

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