BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF now listed on Nasdaq trade clearing firm — Bloomberg analyst

Exchange-traded fund analyst Eric Balchunas said the addition was “all part of the process” of a crypto ETF being listed and traded and a positive sign for SEC approval.

The iShares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by investment firm BlackRock has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), suggesting potential approval by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.

In an Oct. 23 X (formerly Twitter) thread, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said the DTCC listing was “all part of the process” of bringing a crypto ETF to market. The iShares spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF has a ticker symbol of IBTC for a possible listing on the Nasdaq stock exchange, which applied to list and trade shares of the investment vehicle in June.

“This is [the] first spot ETF listed on DTCC, none of the others on there (yet),” said Balchunas. “Def notable BlackRock is leading charge on these logistics (seeding, ticker, dtcc) that tend to happen just prior to launch. Hard not to view this as them getting signal that approval is certain/imminent.”

Balchunas speculated that BlackRock may have already received the green light for listing the ETF from the SEC or was “prepping everything assuming so.” Based on the date of BlackRock’s application, the SEC has until Jan. 10, 2024, to reach a final decision on approval or denial of the ETF.

Related: Bitcoin ETF to trigger massive demand from institutions, EY says

Should BlackRock’s application be approved, it could lead to the floodgates opening for a number of spot crypto ETF filings currently being reviewed by the SEC, including ones from ARK Investment, Fidelity and Valkyrie. To date, the SEC has not approved a spot Bitcoin or Ether (ETH) application for listing on a U.S. exchange but started allowing investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin futures in October 2021.

The BTCC listing followed a U.S. appellate court issuing a mandate enforcing an Aug. 29 decision that would require the SEC to review a spot BTC ETF application from Grayscale Investments. Grayscale submitted a registration statement to the SEC to list shares of its Bitcoin trust on the New York Stock Exchange Arca under the ticker symbol GBTC on Oct. 19.

Magazine: Bitcoin ETF optimist and Worldcoin skeptic Gracy Chen: Hall of Flame

Update (Oct. 24 at 3:25 PM UTC): BlackRock’s iShares spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund has since been removed from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation’s list.

bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 94,051.20
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 3,384.01
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 0.998802
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 687.00
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 2.23
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 188.09
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.320014
matic-network
Polygon (MATIC) $ 0.496647
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 23.91
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000022
nexo
NEXO (NEXO) $ 1.36
enjincoin
Enjin Coin (ENJ) $ 0.231114
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.907452