U.S. SEC Asks Firms Applying for Spot Bitcoin ETFs To Complete Last-Minute Corrections Before New Year: Report

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reportedly asking firms that have bid to create Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to complete last-minute corrections before the start of 2024.

According to a new report by Reuters, anonymous sources familiar with the matter say the regulatory agency met with representatives of companies that applied to create BTC ETFs and told them to submit final changes to their paperwork by the end of the year.

Firms in discussion with the regulatory body include Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and BlackRock, as well as crypto management firm Grayscale and crypto ETF issuer 21Shares.

The report finds that the SEC met with executives from 21Shares and ARK Invest – who have filed jointly together to create a spot market BTC ETF – and told them that companies who don’t meet the December 29th deadline will be excluded from the first round of potential approvals or denials.

Furthermore, representatives of traditional exchanges, such as Nasdaq and the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), as well as legal representatives for the ETF hopefuls, also attended the meetings, according to the report.

Two executives who were in the meetings told Reuters that the agency could approve spot market BTC ETF applications in the first business days of next year.

Earlier this year, a federal judge ruled that the SEC must reconsider its rejection of Grayscale’s bid to create a BTC ETF to avoid inconsistency and arbitrariness. Previously, the SEC had approved BTC futures ETFs, but the regulator could not successfully argue in court why they approved futures ETFs but not spot market ones.

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