SEC asks for final changes to spot Bitcoin ETF filings: Report

• The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has set December 29, 2023 as the date for final changes to spot Bitcoin ETF filings.
• BlackRock, Grayscale and ARK Invest and other companies are all eyeing spot Bitcoin ETF approval in 2024.
• Bitcoin price is hovering above $43k and could rally to a new all-time high on the ETF approval and other bullish catalysts.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly set a deadline for the final changes to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) applications before it.

SEC officials told representatives of seven firms looking to list a spot Bitcoin ETF in the coming weeks that they had to file the final changes to their proposals by December 29, 2023. 

SEC expected to approval first spot Bitcoin ETF early January

A Reuters report says the SEC communicated this to at least companies, with details of the same noted in public memos and from sources familiar with the developments.

The development comes after a busy few days for the regulator. There have been multiple meetings with representatives of BlackRock, Grayscale Investments, ARK Investments and 21 Shares among other companies this past week. 

The latest was on Thursday, December 22 where the agency reportedly asked applicants to file any changes by December 29. It comes after the securities watchdog continued to push for cash creation and redemption models for the spot Bitcoin ETF. 

BlackRock and Ark Invest/21 Shares have filed changes to reflect the cash redemption. 

Other than this detail, other aspects likely expected in the final filings could be related to things like fees and “seeds”.

BlackRock, which announced an initial $100,000 seed for their iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) ETF in October, is reportedly eyeing a $10 million bump to the seed amount by January 3. Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg recently highlighted this via X.

BlackRock expecting to seed $IBIT w/ $10 million on Jan 3rd.. notable the date and that it is a pretty big bump up from the $100k they seeded in Oct. https://t.co/cV22QYz3Do

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 22, 2023

The SEC is expected to make a final decision on the Ark Invest/21 Shares Bitcoin ETF proposal on January 10, 2024. Over the last several weeks, the crypto market has increasingly become bullish on the possibility that the SEC could opt to approve multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs all at once.

Bitcoin (BTC) price continues to hover above $43k ahead of a potential breakout on ETF approval. Analysts say that this, as well as the upcoming BTC halving and the macroeconomic environment could catalyse a bull market rally to highs of $120 or higher in 2024.