U.S.
spot
bitcoin
exchange-traded
funds
(ETFs)
appear
to
be
on
the
verge
of
launching
after
the
exchanges
that
will
list
them
filed
amended
documents,
suggesting
they
expect
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
approval
in
the
coming
days.
The
amended
19b-4
filings,
filed
on
behalf
of
BlackRock,
Grayscale,
Fidelity
and
other
issuers,
join
last
month’s
amended
S-1
filings,
addressing
feedback
from
the
U.S.
Securities
and
Exchange
Commission
(SEC).
More
than
a
dozen
applicants
hope
to
launch
the
first
spot
bitcoin
ETFs
in
the
U.S.;
it’s
likely
multiple
issuers
will
be
approved
simultaneously.
Individuals
at
two
different
issuers
told
CoinDesk
on
Thursday
that
their
companies
anticipate
approvals
sometime
next
week.
One
of
the
individuals
told
CoinDesk
that
filing
the
amendments
did
not
mean
approvals
were
guaranteed
but
said
they
were
optimistic.
A
final
deadline
for
SEC
action
for
at
least
one
application,
by
Ark
21
Shares,
is
Jan.
10,
suggesting
the
regulator
may
approve
all
of
the
final
applications
it
is
comfortable
with
by
that
date.
This
filing
“is
another
important
step
towards
uplisting
GBTC
as
a
spot
bitcoin
ETF,”
Grayscale
spokeswoman
Jenn
Rosenthal
said
in
a
statement,
referring
to
the
company’s
bitcoin
trust
that
it
wants
to
turn
into
an
ETF.
“At
Grayscale,
we
continue
to
work
collaboratively
with
the
SEC,
and
we
remain
ready
to
operate
GBTC
as
an
ETF
upon
receipt
of
regulatory
approvals.”
Earlier
Friday,
Bloomberg
reported
that
the
SEC’s
commissioners
were
“expected
to
vote
on
the
exchange-rule
filings
next
week.”
The
regulatory
agency
needs
to
approve
both
the
19b-4
filings
and
the
S-1
filings
before
the
ETFs
can
launch.
Jesse
Hamilton
contributed
reporting.