CBOE approves Fidelity spot Bitcoin ETF listing, but still needs to wait for SEC approval

Author: Turner Wright, Cointelegraph; Compiler: Songxue, Golden Finance

The US Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe) accepts Fidelity Investments’ proposed spot Bitcoin exchange trading Fund shares are listed and registered.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on January 3, the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund stated that it intends to register its shares as securities listed on the Cboe BZX exchange . AForm 8-A filing, while part of the process of registering an ETF with the SEC, does not necessarily indicate that the Commission will approve the investment vehicle.

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart said on X (formerly Twitter): "My understanding is that this is just a securities registration." "In order to list, the ETF still needs 19b- 4 approval and requires a valid/approved/complete S-1 filing. No 19b-4 yet [...] I’m still looking forward to next week.”

Seyffart noted that Bitwise announced in December A spot Bitcoin ETF registration application was submitted to NYSE Arca on the 29th, but analysts said that the two applications "do not mean that they have been approved or any other information." Volatility Shares Trust filed a Form 8-A with the SEC in June ahead of its listing of shares of a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF on the Cboe BZX exchange.

Many on social media seemed confused by the difference between the SEC’s full approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF and its registration on a U.S. exchange. Some experts, including Seyffart, have speculated that the committee may approve multiple applications for spot BTC exchange-traded products ahead of the final deadline for crypto investment vehicles on January 10 for ARK Invest and 21Shares.

Despite numerous applications from asset managers such as Bitwise, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie and VanEck, the SEC has never approved spot BTC exchange-traded products to be listed and traded on U.S. exchanges. In June 2023, BlackRock, which manages about $9 trillion in assets, filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

While the SEC has not yet approved any spot crypto ETFs, it has given the green light to investment vehicles tied to BTC and ETH futures. Many industry insiders say that approving participation in a Bitcoin ETF could increase cryptocurrency adoption and potentially increase acceptance of blockchain technology.