The
race
to
launch
a
Bitcoin
ETF
reached
a
bureaucratic
crescendo
Friday
as
some
of
the
biggest
Wall
Street
firms
finalized
their
offerings’
paperwork
ahead
of
widely
expected,
possibly
imminent,
action
from
the
SEC.
Invesco,
Fidelity
and
BlackRock,
as
well
as
crypto-focused
firms
Valkyrie
and
Bitwise,
revealed
key
details
including
which
companies
they
would
partner
with,
as
well
as
fees
their
Bitcoin
ETFs
would
charge
if
approved.
Their
so-called
S-1
filings
are
now
“ready
to
party”
as
Bloomberg
ETF
analyst
Eric
Balchunas
said
on
X.
The
party
could
start
in
a
matter
of
days.
ETF
watchers
expect
the
SEC
to
drop
its
years-long
stonewalling
of
a
spot
Bitcoin
ETF
in
early
2024.
Over
a
dozen
firms
are
hoping
to
break
into
the
new
market
by
selling
their
own
version
of
the
easily
investable
product
to
investors
who’d
rather
keep
their
bitcoin
exposure
in
their
brokerage
accounts,
alongside
stocks
and
bonds.
Friday’s
filing
rush
suggests
the
firms
aren’t
willing
to
take
any
chances
on
timing.
Bloomberg
analysts
have
said
the
SEC
is
likely
to
approve
multiple
issuers
at
once,
so
as
to
avoid
picking
favorites.
Thus,
the
eager
issuers
are
getting
all
the
ducks
in
a
row
so
that
they
can
be
in
the
first
group.
BlackRock
set
off
the
end
of
week
filing
frenzy
by
declaring
JPMorgan
and
Jane
Street
its
Authorized
Participants,
which
are
partnering
companies
that
handle
financial
backends
related
to
an
ETF.
Within
hours
the
others
followed.
With
little
to
differentiate
one
bitcoin
ETF
from
the
next,
the
fight
could
come
down
to
fees.
Invesco
and
its
partner
Galaxy
Digital
disclosed
they’ll
waive
fees
for
the
first
six
months
and
$5
billion
invested,
according
to
Balchunas.
That
undercut
Fidelity,
which
plans
to
charge
39
basis
points.
But
size
also
matters.
Bitwise
revealed
it’s
already
lined
up
$200
million
in
seed
capital
for
its
ETF,
edging
out
BlackRock,
which
has
$10
million
at
the
ready.
Investors
could
also
choose
one
fund
over
the
next
simply
because
of
its
popularity
out
of
the
gate.
