- June 30, 2023
- Posted by: [email protected]
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ARK Invest and 21Shares have made substantial progress in launching a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. Their third application now includes a surveillance sharing agreement, a move that aligns it with BlackRock’s recent filing.
ARK Investment Management has amended its spot Bitcoin ETF application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), incorporating a surveillance sharing agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) futures markets and a crypto exchange, likely to be Coinbase, according to Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas on Twitter.
This latest update positions ARK ahead of its competitors in the quest to become the first provider of a Bitcoin ETF in the US. Cathie Wood’s investment company, ARK, and European asset manager 21Shares previously applied for a spot BTC ETF in 2021 and 2022, but their requests were denied due to non-compliance with the rules of practice and Exchange Act requirements.
Bloomberg Intelligence ETF expert James Seyffart revealed in an interview that ARK’s application is presently the front-runner for a Bitcoin ETF. He stated that the earliest SEC decision date for ARK, 21Shares, and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) is August 13, 2023, while the other 19b-4 petitions, including BlackRock’s, do not have a set date.
However, even if ARK’s application receives approval in the coming weeks, there are additional steps to be taken. The company still needs to select a crypto exchange to establish a surveillance-sharing agreement. Although Coinbase seems like a strong candidate for this role, it has already partnered with BlackRock to act as a Bitcoin custodian if approval is granted.
Balchunas raised the question of whether BlackRock would allow Coinbase to enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement with another issuer that could potentially beat them to the market. Should this be the case, ARK would need to find another crypto exchange to collaborate with.
BlackRock’s entry into the Bitcoin ETF race on June 16 sparked a flurry of similar initiatives on Wall Street, with various financial investment firms, including Valkyrie, WisdomTree, and Invesco, refiling for spot Bitcoin ETFs in recent days. The competition among these firms highlights the growing interest in providing US investors with regulated access to Bitcoin through an ETF.
