The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has taken the first step towards potentially approving or rejecting six spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications.
Finance giants, including BlackRock and Fidelity Digital Assets, have shown keen interest in launching such ETFs, sparking enthusiasm in the crypto space and influencing the market positively.
Jay Clayton, former Chairman of the US SEC, is one such individual who thinks the agency is likely to approve the product if interested parties can demonstrate its safety for investors.
He asserted, "If you can demonstrate that the spot market has similar efficacy to the futures market, it would be hard to resist approving a Bitcoin ETF."
According to Reuters, the US securities regulator has officially acknowledged applications from major players like BlackRock, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity Digital Assets, Bitwise, and Invesco, all seeking to introduce a spot BTC ETF in America.
Despite previous attempts by other firms, the Commission has yet to give the green light for this type of product.
While deliberating on the prospect of a spot BTC ETF launch, the SEC has already granted approval for a futures-based ETF.
Back in October 2021, it gave the go-ahead for the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, shortly before Bitcoin achieved its all-time high of nearly $70,000.
The presence of BlackRock, with its history of filing 576 successful ETF applications (with only one rejection), among the candidates seeking to release a spot BTC ETF is seen as a potential game changer.