BlackRockās BTC Position
According to Seyffart, ETF applicants will only begin buying BTC within days of their fundsā actual launch. This is in order to āseedā the ETF with funds in advance so that itās ready to sell shares to investors once live.
āItās not like theyāre out there buying Bitcoin on their balance sheets specifically to maintain exposure,āĀ saidĀ Seyffart. āI think thereās a lot of overhype around what theyāre doing to āfront runā this stuff.ā
The analyst clarified that BlackRock can still invest in BTC via other private products, such as their private Bitcoin trust ā especially if its customers are purchasing BTC ahead of the ETF approval.
Indeed, inflows to alternative Bitcoin funds ā including Canadian Bitcoin ETFs and futures-based ones in the United States ā haveĀ broken recordsĀ in recent months around excitement that an approval is coming.
While such ETFs have been denied time and again until now, Seyffart believes this time is different thanks toĀ GrayscaleāsĀ court victory over the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August.
āIn October we heard that the SEC was giving comments on their S-1 documents,ā he added. āThatās when we went to 90% [odds of approval] because it was a complete and utter break of pattern.ā
BlackRock revealed in its S-1 filing in October that it would seed its fund with $100,000 before launch. However, in an updated filing on Friday, that amount grew to a whopping $10 million, which is planned for January 3.
Incoming ETF Approval
Given the timing of pending comment periods and approval deadlines of rival applicants, Seyffart and other analysts expect a simultaneous approval of multiple Bitcoin spot ETFs between January 5 and January 10.
Bitcoin derivatives markets are lookingĀ bearishĀ ahead of that approval date, suggesting that many believe the ETF approval will be a āsell the newsā event.
Others, however ā including former NYSE president President Tom Farley āĀ believeĀ money will āflood into the industry once an ETF is approved.
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