The bitcoin spot ETF jointly applied by ARK and 21Shares may be listed earlier than BlackRock?

Author: Bitcoinist

Compiled by: Felix, PANews

Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, tweeted that ARK Invest, led by Cathie Wood, had amended its 19b-4 filing for a bitcoin spot ETF application to include the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and crypto exchanges (possibly Coinbase, similar to the document filed by BlackRock.

Ophelia Snyder, co-founder and president of 21Shares, said: “These agreements will provide greater transparency to the market and bring the cryptocurrency market more in line with how the U.S. market is regulated.”

As for oversight-sharing agreements, Snyder said: "This is a topic that has been widely discussed in the industry for a long time. We have been considering a number of different ways to make regulators more comfortable with the industry. Strengthening market regulation and increasing visibility are key parts of that."

It is reported that on April 25, 21Shares, the issuer of cryptocurrency trading products, cooperated with Ark Invest to resubmit the application for the spot bitcoin ETF. 21Shares originally submitted applications for the product in May 2021 and 2022. Since Ark Invest collaborated with 21Shares to submit the application, and the initial application time was earlier than BlackRock, this modification may make ARK and 21Shares ahead of BlackRock in the competition to launch the first U.S. bitcoin spot ETF.

James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg, said: "21Shares and ARK are likely to be ranked first, because the US SEC's decision date on whether their ETF application is approved is August 13, 2023, and BlackRock and others are 19b. -4 (bitcoin spot ETF) application date has not yet been decided”.

Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood said in a statement that it was proud to be among the first to file with the SEC and wanted to "be the first to be considered for approval."

Cathie Wood added: "We believe that Bitcoin as a 'safe haven' asset is a long-term opportunity for investors during times of heightened macroeconomic uncertainty. We believe that the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF is very important and will be A major inflection point in Bitcoin's path to institutional adoption."

According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, ARK may face challenges from competitors such as BlackRock, because these competitors may not allow Coinbase to sign a supervision sharing agreement with other issuers, so ARK may need to find another cryptocurrency exchange.

In response to this statement, 21shares co-founder Ophelia Snyde clarified that there is no reason for a cryptocurrency exchange to only enter into a monitoring sharing agreement with a party like ARK Invest. These agreements are designed to increase market transparency and connectedness, which cannot be achieved if only one party participates.

BlackRock's filing sparked a surge in the crypto market, with the value of bitcoin surging more than 21 percent to break through $30,000. The rise reflects BlackRock's influence and prestige in the investment world.

Additionally, a survey by Nomura-backed Laser Digital revealed that 96 percent of the 303 professional investors surveyed, who together manage $4.95 trillion, expressed interest in investing in cryptocurrencies. The survey also revealed that 82% of participants had a positive view on Bitcoin and Ethereum, while 88% said they were considering investing in cryptocurrencies or their clients were doing so.

Competition for the first U.S. bitcoin spot ETF is intense, with multiple firms vying for approval. Whether the US SEC approves it, and which one remains to be seen.

Related Reading: What's the Difference Between BlackRock and Bitwise's Spot Bitcoin ETFs?