According to Blockworks, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might approve a spot bitcoin ETF without a public vote. The SEC's next meeting is scheduled for January 11, one day after the deadline to approve or deny Ark and 21Shares' proposal. Although SEC meetings are publicly disclosed, Chair Gary Gensler could choose a seriatim vote on bitcoin ETF applications, allowing votes to be collected without publicly convening a meeting.

Seriatim votes are circulated one by one to each commissioner, with the matter moving forward to the next commissioner after the previous one has cast a vote. This process can be tricky, as one commissioner can hold onto a seriatim, effectively creating a 'desk drawer veto.' The commission has sometimes decided not to conduct a vote on crypto ETFs, opting instead to delegate authority to staff to conserve resources.

SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce stated in June 2022 that many early bitcoin exchange-traded product denials were issued by staff under delegated authority. Matters of delegated authority can be challenged by individual commissioners, who have up to ten days after the decision date to call for a full commission vote, which lengthens the process. In theory, a spot bitcoin ETF could be approved by staff under delegated authority but then denied by a commissioner vote.

Historically, commissioners have voted on some crypto ETFs. In January 2023, Gensler, Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, and Commissioner Jamie Lizárraga voted to deny Ark and 21Shares' Bitcoin ETF. In June 2023, the agency voted on three additional ETF applications unrelated to crypto. In 2018, under former SEC Chair Jay Clayton, commissioners unanimously voted to deny the GraniteShares and ProShares bitcoin ETFs.

The SEC declined to comment on whether a vote will take place this week. An SEC spokesperson told Blockworks that if the Commission declares a registration statement effective, it will be reflected on EDGAR, and any Commission 19b-4 orders will be posted on the SEC website and published in the Federal Register.