Bitcoin pumped to over 30k last week for The first time since April The Surge is Largely related to a regulatory filing By BlackRock the world's largest asset Manager to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF so Why is this a big deal what does it mean For btc's price and the big question is The ETF likely to be approved These are some of the questions we'll be Answering in this video but first if You're new to this Bureau welcome my Name's Guy entertainment and high Quality crypto content a what I Supply I Will share plenty today but don't Mistake it for financial advice I aim to Share knowledge and insights and news to Entice so subscribe and hit that Bell And hear the crypto news we tell Right back to the story First a bit of context if you're Familiar with ETFs and how they work Feel free to jump ahead to the next Section using the timestamps below Now ETFs or exchange traded funds Represent an easy way to invest in Assets without actually having to hold Those assets they trade on stock Exchanges and generally track a specific Index for example the s p 500. now Buying shares in an S P 500 ETF gives You exposure to the top 500 companies in The United States without you having to Go and buy shares in every single one The ETF provider does that in the
Background For traditional investors seeking to get Exposure to bitcoin and ETF offers two Key incentives first it simplifies the Buying process as users don't need to Sign up for a crypto exchange or deal With crypto wallets and they don't need To face the risk of losing passwords or Private keys they go about their Investment in the same way they would When investing in stocks or other ETFs Through a regular brokerage account Second it also suggests that the Provider in this case BlackRock believes In Bitcoin as an asset with staying Power and that is a big deal in Blackrock's case it's also a remarkable About face back in 2017 the company's CEO Larry Fink called Bitcoin quote an Index of money laundering now no doubt With an eye on potential trading fees he Seems to have set those concerns aside So what that tells you is Bitcoin has is Has caught the attention and the Imagination of many people Currently there are no spot Bitcoin ETFs Available to us investors although they Can get exposure to BTC through Futures Bitcoin ETFs which track the price Movements of Bitcoin Futures contracts These contracts are agreements to buy or Sell BTC at an agreed price on a future Date regardless of the actual price at That time as Motley Fool an investing
Advice company puts it quote Historically these products have Struggled to accurately track the price A spot Bitcoin ETF on the other hand Involves the actual purchase of BTC in The spot Market to back the shares of The ETF Market rules dictate that an ETF Issuer must hold an amount of the asset In question equivalent to the number of ETF shares issued so if BlackRock gets Approval for its spot ETF it's going to Have to start stacking SATs Now each type of ETF has its pros and Cons but a notable benefit to a spot Bitcoin ETF like the one proposed by BlackRock is that it would almost Certainly come with lower fees than Available Futures ETFs so the overall Benefits are pretty clear a spot Bitcoin ETF would offer investors an easy Relatively cheap and safe way to invest In Bitcoin this would result in actual BTC being bought to back up the shares Which would in theory push btc's price Up Now let's move on to Blackrock and why This is such a big deal so as mentioned BlackRock is the world's largest asset Manager with around 9 trillion dollars In AUM assets under management It accounts for around a third of the U.S ETF Market it is in other words a Behemoth When BlackRock files for an ETF the
Markets sit up and pay attention with a Whopping 575 approvals versus one yes One rejection BlackRock also has an Outstanding track record of getting its ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission SEC which for those Unfamiliar is the body in charge of These things under its chairman Gary Gensler the SEC has of course been Hostile to crypto it's not only Currently suing several major crypto Exchanges but has also to date rejected Multiple spot Bitcoin ETF applications By some estimates blackrock's Bitcoin Spot ETF officially called the ishares Bitcoin trust is at least the 28th Attempt at launching such an ETF in the United States with BlackRock being the 20th company to file for one so why with The SEC cracking down on crypto and After so many failed attempts by other Companies would BlackRock try its luck Now well we can't know for sure there Are some likely explanations ranging From the general context to blackrock's Specific filing First there's competition from other Jurisdictions the EU just successfully Passed Mica its Landmark crypto Regulatory framework Europe is now ahead Of the US in terms of creating a Well-defined regulatory environment for The digital assets industry the UK is Making strides in this direction too as
Is Hong Kong the UAE and others U.S Financial institutions could lose out as A result if the crypto industry exits The US for friendly assures also worth Noting is the fact that some other Jurisdictions for example Canada already Have spot Bitcoin ETFs available to Investors there Second other Trad five players seem to Be getting in on the ACT exhibit a the Special purpose broker-dealer license Secured by promethium a supposedly Crypto firm that no one in crypto had Actually heard of until its CEO popped Up parroting the sec's line in front of Congress a few weeks ago exhibit B the Recent launch in the U.S of edx markets A crypto exchange backed by Fidelity Charles Schwab and Citadel securities This was announced in the wake of Blackrock's ETF filing though has Obviously been in the works for many Months Then there's the sec's supposed problem With all those previous spot Bitcoin ETF Applications manipulation and fraud in The Bitcoin markets blackrog it appears Reckons it can put those fears to rest This would in theory give it a greater Chance of having its application Approved now it's looking to do this Through the use of a surveillance Sharing agreement in cooperation with NASDAQ and its surveillance capabilities
This move aims to address concerns of Market manipulation by monitoring Trading activity clearing activity and Customer information It could be a key factor in securing Approval for blackrock's ETF as no other Submission has included such Provisions However not everyone is convinced that This will be enough to secure BlackRock The green light from the SEC Appearing on a recent episode of Bankless Trad five veteran Austin Campbell argued that previous applicants Have also been willing to enter into Such surveillance sharing agreements It's just the BlackRock actually Codified it on paper besides that Blackrock's filing isn't all that Different from previous ones according To Austin and others the real strong Point of blackrock's application is the Fact that it comes from BlackRock the Fact that this biggest of trad-fied Beasts feels confident in its ability to Safely offer a spot Bitcoin ETF is Perhaps all that's needed others like James safart a research analyst with Bloomberg intelligence Natalie Brunel Host of the podcast coin stories and Matt Walsh and Nick Carter of Castle Island Ventures believe that BlackRock Might have received inside information From the SEC about what would be Required for approval of a spot ETF
While also suggesting that the timing is Somewhat favorable As safe Art's colleague at Bloomberg Eric balconas puts it on Twitter quote Our bull case for a spot ETF approval Can basically be summed up in four words What does BlackRock know because well When you have nine trillion dollars in AUM and basically rule Wall Street There's a decent chance you're privy to Information that us plebs aren't adding To the complexity meanwhile is the fact That the custodian for the ETFs BTC Holdings is none other than coinbase now On the one hand coinbase is a Natural Choice as it has an existing Relationship with BlackRock coinbase has Also worked hard to seek regulatory Clarity and adhere to it and it hasn't Been mired in hacking or mismanagement Scandals as other exchanges have to date Its record is pretty much spotless on The other hand though coinbase is Currently in the sec's crosshairs big Time the SEC is suing the exchange Accusing it of operating as an Unregistered broker and claiming that Many cryptocurrencies available on Coinbase are securities as podcaster Huff pointed out on Twitter quote they Could have gone with the safe option of Bny melon USA's oldest and most trusted Bank But no they went with coinbase a signal
Of blackrock's confidence in The Exchange And now on to a matter I'm sure most of You are curious about what impact would An SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETF have on Btc's price now not Financial advice of Course but in the absence of some Black Swan event SEC approval will likely push Btc's price up if the SEC approves Blackrock's filing it will likely Approve other similar filings given that Blackrocks could theoretically serve as A blueprint note blackrock's application Has also caused a flurry of activity From other companies Invesco and Wisdom Tree renewed their ETF applications in The wake of blackrock's filing while Fidelity has entered into the crypto Marketplace business with the Aforementioned launch of edx markets and Of course its Futures ETF other Wall Street names are also embracing Cryptocurrencies the main streaming of Bitcoin through these institutional Investors will likely lead to a great Deal of buying pressure which would of Course be positive for btc's Price Holding all else equal indeed if you Look at precedent the approval of Fidelity's Bitcoin Futures ETF marked The top of the 2021 Bull Run and brought In a record-setting billion dollars in Two days the launch of Bitcoin Futures On the Chicago Mercantile Exchange CME
Also marked the top back in 2017. ah Memories Of course this time around we're in a Bear market and it's perhaps unlikely We'll see such a flood of inflows but It's still hard to see a bearish outcome If BlackRock does get the thumbs up But what if blackrock's application is Denied like every other spot ETF filing To date well in that case btc's price is Likely to take a knock potentially Canceling the gains we've seen over the Last week or so it would also be hard to See any other spot Bitcoin ETF getting Approved in the near future either Because if BlackRock can't make it Happen well who can So what's the process and what is the Likelihood of BlackRock getting its way And when do we find out well after Publication of the application in the Federal Register the SEC has 45 days in The first instance to approve reject or Extend review of the ETF filing Then they can extend multiple times with A maximum of 240 days meaning that an Answer is due by the 23rd of February 2024 at the very latest but as James Seifert explained on the coin Stories Podcast based on precedent the ETF is Less likely to be passed if it isn't Approved before the first deadline which Is the 12th of August so we can expect Some price volatility around that date
If we haven't had an answer by then As for the likelihood of it passing that Really is anyone's guess Adam Cochran a Well-known crypto commentator and Investor believes the odds are good Bloomberg meanwhile puts it at 50 50 With BlackRock status making the case For the bullish sentiment while Cautioning on the bearish side that Coinbase might not be large enough and Is unregulated meanwhile trading firm Qcp Capital say it's quote unlikely due To Gary gensler's anti-crypto stunts and Me well I am cautiously optimistic BlackRock is Blackrock and I find it Hard to see why the firm would have Submitted such an application if it Wasn't very confident of success Perhaps it sees a crypto bear Market as The ideal time to strike and buy up BTC On the cheap mind you it's dealing with The SEC and as anyone in crypto will Know nothing can be ruled in or out when It comes to our favorite regulator Watch this space and we will of course Keep you updated So that's about it for today but what Are your thoughts do you think BlackRock Will get the nod from Gary and Co and What impact will it have on prices let Us know in the comments below if you'd Like to support the channel like Subscribe and share this video with Friends and family and if you happen to
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