Top Crypto Execs Confident SEC Will Approve Spot Bitcoin ETFs

By Andrew Throuvalas

All eyes are on the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as it mulls a number of applications for a spot Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF), and two leading names in crypto are now publicly predicting that the agency will eventually give them a green light.

Mike Novogratz, CEO of crypto investment manager Galaxy Digital, claimed this week that such a financial product will launch within the next four to six months, citing inside sources. 

“Both of our contacts from the Invesco side and from the BlackRock side gets you to think that this is a question of when, not if,” he said during an earnings call on Tuesday, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. 

Galaxy teamed up with Invesco in reapplying for a spot ETF in June, making it one of many firms to take another swing at applying shortly after BlackRock tried its hand. There are now nine active Bitcoin spot ETF applications awaiting approval by the SEC. 

Many investors suspect that a spot Bitcoin ETF approval will trigger an influx of institutional capital into Bitcoin, which could send the asset’s price soaring. As such, applicants are racing have the first approval, hoping to capture most of the market share out of the gate.

“We’re going to fight like cats and dogs to win market share there once it gets approved,” added Novogratz. “It’s a big, big deal.”

When the SEC first approved the ProShares’ Bitcoin futures ETF in October 2021, the fund saw opening day inflows that dwarfed those of competitors that launched in the following days. 

However, since the latest wave of spot ETF applications is made up of funds with nearly identical structures, some suspect the SEC won’t play favorites this time. 

“I think the SEC, if it’s going to approve a Bitcoin ETF, will approve more than one at once,” said Cathie Wood, CEO of ARK Investment Management, to Bloomberg on Monday. Wood’s own Ark21 Shares ETF is technically first in line for potential approval on August 13, though most analysts expect the SEC to postpone this approval date. 

Grayscale—another fund that’s currently suing the SEC to get its own application approved—argued last month that the agency is required to approval multiple ETFs at once so as to “not pick winners and losers.”

Recommended News