Why It Looks Like BlackRock Could Win America’s First Spot Bitcoin ETF - Ep. 509

The SEC has swatted down so many spot bitcoin ETF applications that crypto diehards simply gave up caring. Then comes TradFi giant BlackRock – at the height of the SEC’s crypto crackdown, no less – with an ETF application that has seemingly changed the calculus. Bloomberg Intelligence ETF watcher James Seyffart joins the show to unpack the odds of BlackRock being the first to win approval, and what it would mean for other players in the space chasing down TradFi’s “holy grail.”

Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Stitcher, Castbox, Google Podcasts, TuneIn, Amazon Music, or on your favorite podcast platform.

Show highlights:

• why the SEC rejected all of the previous bitcoin spot ETF applications
• what makes the application from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, different 
• what a 19b-4 filing is and how it relates to the BlackRock application
• whether BlackRock “knows something,” considering the recent enforcement actions against major crypto exchanges
• why being a first mover is a considerable advantage in the ETF market
• whether BlackRock choosing Coinbase as a custodian is a risk, given that the SEC is in a legal battle with Coinbase
• what’s different about a spot bitcoin ETF, and why a bitcoin futures ETF is not enough 
• what are the differences between the applications filed by BlackRock, Invesco, WisdomTree and Valkyrie
• which are the applications that are most likely to be approved, according to James
• what the impact will be of Grayscale’s lawsuit against the SEC over the denial of its proposal to convert GBTC to an ETF
• why James says that Gary Gensler could be thinking like a politician as it relates to spot bitcoin ETFs 

• Crypto.com
• Copilot Money
• ProtonMail

• James Seyffart, Research analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence

• Previous coverage of Unchained on the topic:
• Grayscale v. SEC: Who Won This Week’s Hearing?
• Why Grayscale Is Suing the SEC Over Its Denial of a Bitcoin ETF
• $5 Billion in AUM: Why Growth at Grayscale Exploded in the Last Quarter
• Bitwise’s Latest Plans to Get a Bitcoin ETF Approved
• DCG’s Dilemma: Should It Sell Its GBTC Holdings to Repay Gemini?
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• The Block: BlackRock ETF launch would put pressure on Grayscale's valuation: Bloomberg analyst
• CoinDesk: A Straightforward Explanation for Why Financial Giants Want to Issue a Spot Bitcoin ETF
• Unchained:
• Invesco and WisdomTree Follow BlackRock, Reapply for Bitcoin ETFs
• ​​BlackRock Files for Bitcoin Spot ETF
• Valkyrie Applies for Bitcoin Spot ETF ‘BRRR’
• Reuters: 
• Cboe files with U.S. SEC for third time to list ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
• US court questions SEC's rejection of Grayscale's bitcoin fund proposal
• Barron’s: ETF: Invesco, WisdomTree Join Push. Why It Might Happen.
• Blockworks: BlackRock, then Bitwise — How the spot bitcoin ETF filings differ

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