Both social and traditional media were ablaze this week with anticipatory hype over what appears to be the final countdown to the SEC clearing the first cohort of spot Bitcoin ETFs for trading, with S-1 submissions from asset managers Blackrock, Valkyrie, Grayscale, Bitwise, Invesco, ARK Investment Management and Fidelity all in cue. As best one can tell, the window for approval appears to be set for sometime between January 8th and January 10th. Adding credibility to the rumors were reports on Friday that the major exchanges themselves were working with regulators on their respective 19b-4 filings, which spell out the rule changes the SEC must approve for the spot Bitcoin ETFs to launch. The first S-1 filing to be cleared would be that of ARK Investment and 21 Shares, requiring a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down” from the SEC by January 10th (it being the first asset manager to submit). Presumably, as goes the first, so shall go the others.
What this means for the price of Bitcoin is anyone’s guess, with “expert” predictors lined-up on both sides. But make no mistake, should the ETF clearings start to flow through, it marks a seminal moment in the digital asset’s long and windy path toward legitimacy as an asset class. Though there will likely remain quirks with the new investment vehicles themselves, particularly along the lines of how liquidated ETF shares will be settled, the one takeaway for investors from these proceedings, if they play out as anticipated, is that Bitcoin, in its capacity as an asset, has finally achieved validation.
