Valkyrie executive 95% confident in Wednesday spot Bitcoin ETF approval

A top Valkyrie executive has expressed his belief that regulators will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF on Wednesday, TechCrunch reported on Jan. 9.

Valkyrie CIO and co-founder Steven McClurg said:

“We’ve been running hard for the last probably six weeks now on this, and it’s been quite exciting … myself and others are very confident that Wednesday it’ll get approved aftermarket with a Thursday launch to trade.”

In a separate tweet, TechCrunch author Jacquelyn Melinek said that McClurg is 95% confident of a Wednesday, Jan. 10 approval.

Valkyrie is one of approximately a dozen spot Bitcoin ETF applicants awaiting approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The securities regulator is required to reach a decision on Ark Invest’s application on Jan. 10, which has led to widespread predictions of approval on that date. However, other funds have later deadlines. For example, the SEC is not required to reach a decision on BlackRock’s application until Jan. 15. The deadline for the regulator’s decision on Valkyrie’s application is unclear.

Valkyrie CIO commented on fees, markets, and more

McClurg also commented on other aspects of ETFs. According to Melinek, he acknowledged recent ‘fee wars’ through which ETF applicants have reduced fees and introduced waivers. He described issues in reducing fees to 0.2%; Valkyrie’s application currently includes a 0.49% fee and a 3-month waiver.

McClurg also told Melinek that there is a “strong possibility” that spot Ethereum and spot XRP ETFs will arrive in the future. Valkyrie previously gained approval for an Ethereum futures ETF in October. However, it is not among the current list of spot Ethereum ETF applicants, which includes BlackRock and Fidelity. There are no verified spot XRP ETF plans from any company at present.

Finally, McClurg commented on the potential market impact of spot Bitcoin ETF approvals. He said that he expects $10 billion or more to enter spot Bitcoin ETFs by the end of 2024 and up to $3 billion during the first week of trading.

He also predicted that Bitcoin will be worth $150,000 before the end of 2024, as spot Bitcoin ETFs could create a “supply shock” that drives up demand.