BlackRock Refutes News that SEC Has Approved Its iShares BTC ETF

BlackRock has debunked circulating claims that the U.S. SEC has approved the company’s iShares Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF, according to Fox Journalist Eleanor Terrett and other industry leaders.

Amid the anticipation within the crypto community, prominent crypto-focused media outlet Cointelegraph announced on X today that the SEC has approved BlackRock’s application to launch the iShares BTC spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).

The report reverberated within the broader crypto community, especially at a time when Bitcoin and the rest of the market were already witnessing a recovery from the latest plunge. 

However, this euphoria was short-lived, as credible sources dismissed the report as false. One of these sources was Eleanor Terrett, who categorically stated that BlackRock confirmed that the disclosure was inaccurate. BlackRock noted that the SEC was still reviewing their application.

🚨BlackRock has just confirmed to me that this is false. Their application is still under review. https://t.co/XIfIWZ0Ule

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) October 16, 2023

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Before Terrett’s post, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart took the Cointelegraph report with a pinch of salt, arguing that it might not be accurate. Upon coming across several rebuttals from authority sources, including BlackRock themselves, Seyffart confirmed that the report was false.

Notably, Seyffart had acknowledged that it is one thing to have an internal source within the securities regulator reveal that the ETF application would be approved. Nonetheless, he noted that the agency has not officially given the approval.

Shortly after Terrett debunked the claim, she released a new statement from BlackRock. “The iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF is still under review by the SEC,” the multinational investment company said to Fox Business. Cointelegraph has deleted the original post.

🚨NEW: Official statement to @FoxBusiness from @BlackRock:

“The iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF is still under review by the SEC.”

— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) October 16, 2023

BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF

Filed in June, BlackRock’s iShares BTC spot ETF aims to make it easy for investors to get into the Bitcoin market, offering a way to tap into Bitcoin’s potential without the complexities and challenges of owning Bitcoin directly.

The SEC still hasn’t approved or rejected the application three months later. The SEC delayed making a decision on this ETF on Sept. 28. If it gets the green light, the iShares Bitcoin Spot ETF could be the first spot BTC ETF in the U.S. Other financial giants such as WisdomTree and Invesco have also filed for a spot BTC ETF.

Meanwhile, recall that the SEC failed to appeal a decision from a U.S. court in its case against leading investment company Grayscale. A panel had asked the agency to review its rejection of Grayscale’s application to transform its Bitcoin Trust to a BTC spot ETF. The case will end in the next four days, and the SEC will begin the process of approval.