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Cathie Wood Anticipates Simultaneous SEC Approval for Numerous Spot Crypto ETFs

08 Aug 2023

Mitchell Nixon

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ARK Investment Management, among various other firms, is actively seeking avenues to provide U.S. investors exposure to cryptocurrencies through exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

Cathie Wood, the founder and CEO of ARK Investment Management, reportedly indicated that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) might grant approval to multiple spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) simultaneously.

In an interview with Bloomberg on August 7th, Wood projected that if the SEC proceeds with any of the currently pending applications, it could potentially approve “more than one [ETF] at once.” ARK Investment Management submitted one of the recent spot Bitcoin ETF applications in June, having adjusted the submission to include a surveillance-sharing agreement.

Wood’s statements echo a proposal from Grayscale, a company currently engaged in litigation against the SEC for its denial of an application seeking to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. In July, Grayscale’s legal team submitted a letter to the SEC urging the regulator to consider approving all proposed spot Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously to avoid favouring one over the others.

Although the SEC has not yet sanctioned a spot crypto ETF in the U.S., it has permitted the listing of ETFs linked to crypto futures and a leveraged Bitcoin futures ETF from Volatility Shares Trust. At present, the SEC has received crypto ETF applications from notable entities including Invesco, BlackRock, Valkyrie, VanEck, Wisdom, Fidelity, and ARK Invest.

Wood suggested that the SEC might extend ARK Invest’s deadline for its spot BTC ETF application. The U.S. financial regulator is expected to decide on ARK’s current application by August 13, either granting approval, rejecting it, or extending the decision through an extension or comment period. Since ARK filed the paperwork in May 2023, the SEC has a maximum time frame of 240 days—until January 2024—to arrive at a final determination.

The race to secure a listing for a spot crypto ETF in the U.S. has garnered substantial attention within the crypto industry and media. This attention has particularly intensified following a submission from BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management firm.

We did an article on that here. 

In contrast, regulatory bodies in other countries, such as Canada, have already granted approval for similar spot ETF filings from crypto companies.

In Australia, Monochrome Asset Management Pty Ltd, a crypto-focused investment management firm, along with its partner Vasco Trustees Ltd, has submitted an updated application for the Monochrome Bitcoin ETF (IBTC) to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). The IBTC will be the first spot Bitcoin ETF in Australia’s new regulatory framework, providing direct exposure to Bitcoin.