American asset manager giant BlackRock announced on June 15th that is has filed for a Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF), a type of pooled investment security, which would allow its investors to be exposed to the cryptocurrency and would ultimately also benefit Bitcoin as well. However, the completion of the move is far from over, as the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected Greyscale Investment LLC’s ETF application last year – another asset manager. Indeed, if approved, BlackRock would be launching the first spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States.
The filing comes at a topsy turvy moment in the year for the crypto sector, as just in the last weeks, the SEC sued two of the biggest global exchanges, Binance and Coinbase, essentially accusing them of failing to register their exchanges with the SEC. However, according to chief at blockchain technology group XBE Joshua Chu, “The fact that BlackRock, a well-respected and established asset management company, has filed for a Bitcoin ETF could be seen as a positive development in the quest for regulatory approval.” Whether this will indeed be the moment that regulatory approval evolves into the next stage of the process is difficult to say, as Gary Gensler and the SEC’s attitude continues to be a rather confrontational one given recent developments, and therefore only time will tell.
