Quantcast
The MFWire
Manage Email Alerts | Sponsorships | About MFWire | Who We Are

Subscribe to MFWire.com's News Alerts [click]

Rating:SEC Questions BlackRock's Spot ETP App Not Rated 0.0 Email Routing List Email & Route  Print Print
Friday, June 30, 2023

SEC Questions BlackRock's Spot ETP App

News summary by MFWire's editors

Maybe the team at BlackRock [profile] did not know anything special about the SEC's willingness to greenlight spot cryptocurrency ETPs after all. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff think that recent spot Bitcoin ETF filings are inadequate and "not sufficiently clear and comprehensive." The report is based on "people familiar with the matter."

Laurence D. "Larry" Fink
BlackRock
Chairman, CEO
The SEC staff informed the Nasdaq and Cboe of the regulatory agency's concerns, according to the report. The exchanges file the paperwork with the SEC. The SEC's specific issue appears to be that the applications failed to provide enough details of how the proposed surveillance-sharing agreement would work. One simple omission in the filings noted by the SEC is the name of the spot exchange that is part of the agreement.

While the asset managers can update their filings — and they likely will — the SEC staff's concerns about the details of the surveillance-sharing agreement hints that BlackRock executives had no special knowledge when the created their filing (which was submitted on June 15, as previously reported).

The report of the SEC staff's concerns comes a day after Fidelity Investments joined a wave of asset managers to file for Bitcoin ETPs. BlackRock kicked off this month's filing wave that now also includes requests from Invesco, WisdomTree, Bitwise, Valkrie, and Ark.

The SEC has never approved a spot ETP that invests in a crypto asset since the first application was made in 2017. However, Grayscale is currently suing the SEC over the commission's rejection of the conversion of its Bitcoin Trust to an ETP structure. A ruling in that case is expected in the coming months. One reason for the spate of filings may be an attempt by asset managers to be early in line for SEC approval if Grayscale wins its case.

There is also speculation that BlackRock "broke the code" when it included a new surveillance-sharing agreement that could resolve the stated SEC staff concerns that crypto assets are not quoted on SEC-approved exchanges. The lack of pricing transparency has led to concerns over price manipulation.

To be approved, an ETP needs to gain a majority of the votes by the five-member SEC. Recently applications have failed by 3-2 votes, with commissioners Hester Peirce and Mark Uyeda providing the two yes votes. There is some speculation that Caroline Crenshaw may now be more willing to vote in favor of a spot Bitcoin ETF. Some also think that Chair Gary Gensler may reverse his vote in the case that Grayscale defeats the SEC in court.

Peirce and Uyeda wrote a dissenting opinion, after the commission rejected Van Eck's Bitcoin Trust application in March, that outlined the key issue:
It is true that when approving other types of commodity-based ETPs, the exchange listing such products has had a surveillance-sharing agreement with a market on which futures of the commodity underlying the ETP trade. And those orders typically describe the relevant futures market as "significant." But it is also clear that the Commission is using a uniquely burdensome definition of "significant" in its analyses of spot bitcoin ETP filings.
Editor's Note: A prior version of this story was originally published on our sister publication CeFiWire. 

Edited by: Sean Hanna, Editor in Chief


Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE

0.0
 Do You Recommend This Story?



GO TO: MFWire
Return to Top
 News Archives
2025: Q3Q2Q1
2024: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2023: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2022: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2021: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2020: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2019: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2018: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2017: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2016: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2015: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2014: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2013: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2012: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2011: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2010: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2009: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2008: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2007: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2006: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2005: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2004: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2003: Q4Q3Q2Q1
2002: Q4Q3Q2Q1
 Subscribe via RSS:
Raw XML
Add to My Yahoo!
follow us in feedly


    Sorry, no records in the database matched your search parameters. Clich back and try again.



  1. Nicsa webinar - New research by Alex Edmans and the Diversity Project - The Power of diverse thinking: How the best teams make decisions, July 1
  2. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum, July 9
  3. MFDF webinar - Mid-Year Tax Update for Registered Investment Companies, July 10
  4. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Philadelphia), July 15
  5. 2025 MMI Women in Advisory Solutions Forum, Jul 15-16
  6. Nicsa webinar - How Trusted GenAI is Transforming Data Access in Asset Management, July 16
  7. MFDF webinar - M&A and Consolidation in Asset Management, July 16
  8. MFDF webinar - ETF Conversions, July 17
  9. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (New York), July 22
  10. MFDF Ask Anything webinar - AI Edition, July 24
  11. MFDF webinar - Use of Derivatives by RICs, July 29
  12. MFDF Director Discussion Series - Open Forum (Columbus, Ohio), August 20
  13. Samfund Soiree Boston 2025, August 21
  14. MFDF webinar - The Audit Committee Chair's Guide to Balancing Duties and Emerging Issues, September 3
  15. ICI ETF Conference, Sep 8-10
  16. Nicsa webinar - Reimagining Reconciliation: AI, Regulation, and Capital Markets Transformation, September 10
  17. MFDF webinar - Series Trust Funds - Compliance and Board Reporting, September 10
  18. MFDF In Focus - Board Oversight of DEI in Current Landscape, September 11
  19. MFDF webinar - MFDF 15(c) White Paper Webinar Series: Part 4 – Enforcement Action Takeaways, September 16
  20. MFDF webinar - Latest in Closed-End Funds Litigations, September 23
  21. MFDF webinar - Fixed Income Insights: Navigating Market Trends & Opportunities, September 24
  22. MFDF webinar - Risk Management Essentials for RICs and Boards, September 29
  23. MFDF webinar - Diligent - Tools for Fund Board Book, October 1
  24. 10th annual Fuse Forum, October 8
  25. MFDF webinar - Essential Strategies in Board Oversight of Operational Risk Management, October 14
  26. 2025 MMI Annual Conference, Oct 15-17




©All rights reserved to InvestmentWires, Inc. 1997-2025
14 Wall Street | 20th Floor | New York, NY 10005 | P: 212-331-8968 | F: 212-331-8998
Privacy Policy :: Terms of Use