Fidelity and SEC meet to discuss spot Bitcoin ETF application
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently met with Fidelity to seek additional clarity on its spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) application.
According to a filing published on December 7, two Cboe BZX Exchange representatives, along with six personnel from the SEC and nine individuals from Fidelity, discussed the workings of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in a meeting.
“The discussion concerned Cboe BZX’s proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust under Cboe BZX Rule 14.11(e)(4). Fidelity also provided the attached presentation.”
The filing incorporated PowerPoint slides used during the meeting to illustrate the operational framework of the Bitcoin ETF.
“Arbitrage and hedge are more efficient with physical creations,” the filing stated while proposing the most effective strategy to the U.S. regulator:
“Self-clearing ETF market maker firms can facilitate efficient arbitrage in acting as Agency AP for non-self-clearing ETF market maker firms with Crypto Affiliates. Allowing for physical creation and redemption is critical to enhance trading efficiency and secondary market pricing for all participants.”
Fidelity submitted an application for a spot Bitcoin ETF to the SEC on June 19, shortly after BlackRock and several other asset managers filed for the product just days prior.
However, the SEC rejected Fidelity’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF in 2022.
This comes after recent news that the SEC is meeting with spot Bitcoin ETF applicants to discuss various aspects of applications.
Cointelegraph recently reported that based on industry insider knowledge they were discussing “key technical details” related to U.S. exchanges listing shares of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Related: Fidelity seeks green light for Ethereum ETF, following BlackRock’s filing
However, memos released by the SEC in November showed the Commission separately met with representatives of BlackRock and Grayscale.
There has been much speculation in recent times over when a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved.
Hashdex, one of the applicants among the 13 asset managers, anticipates to see the first U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF by the second quarter of 2024.
“The exact timing of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. remains unclear, but in 2023, the narrative around this product switched from a question of ‘if’ to a matter of ‘when,’” said Hashdex’s U.S. and Europe head of product Dramane Meite.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart remain confident that January 10 will mark the simultaneous approval of all spot Bitcoin ETFs. This aligns with the SEC’s deadline to either approve or deny ARK Invest’s application.
US prosecutors charged two men for allegedly running the crypto fraud scheme OmegaPro, which promised 300% returns to investors.
TRM Labs said North Korea is moving away from hacks to focus more on deception-based revenue generation, such as planting IT workers in US companies.
Politics
UK and France have ‘shared responsibility’ to tackle illegal migration, Emmanuel Macron says
Emmanuel Macron has said the UK and France have a “shared responsibility” to tackle the “burden” of illegal migration, as he urged co-operation between London and Paris ahead of a crunch summit later this week.
Addressing parliament in the Palace of Westminster on Tuesday, the French president said the UK-France summit would bring “cooperation and tangible results” regarding the small boats crisis in the Channel.
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King Charles III at the State Banquet for President of France Emmanuel Macron. Pic: PA
Mr Macron – who is the first European leader to make a state visit to the UK since Brexit – told the audience that while migrants’ “hope for a better life elsewhere is legitimate”, “we cannot allow our countries’ rules for taking in people to be flouted and criminal networks to cynically exploit the hopes of so many individuals with so little respect for human life”.
“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he added.
Looking ahead to the UK-France summit on Thursday, he promised the “best ever cooperation” between France and the UK “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries”.
Sir Keir Starmer will hope to reach a deal with his French counterpart on a “one in, one out” migrant returns deal at the key summit on Thursday.
King Charles also addressed the delegations at a state banquet in Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, saying the summit would “deepen our alliance and broaden our partnerships still further”.
King Charles speaking at state banquet welcoming Macron.
Sitting next to President Macron, the monarch said: “Our armed forces will cooperate even more closely across the world, including to support Ukraine as we join together in leading a coalition of the willing in defence of liberty and freedom from oppression. In other words, in defence of our shared values.”
In April, British officials confirmed a pilot scheme was being considered to deport migrants who cross the English Channel in exchange for the UK accepting asylum seekers in France with legitimate claims.
The two countries have engaged in talks about a one-for-one swap, enabling undocumented asylum seekers who have reached the UK by small boat to be returned to France.
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Britain would then receive migrants from France who would have a right to be in the UK, like those who already have family settled here.
The small boats crisis is a pressing issue for the prime minister, given that more than 20,000 migrants crossed the English Channel to the UK in the first six months of this year – a rise of almost 50% on the number crossing in 2024.
President Macron greets Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle at his address to parliament in Westminster.
Elsewhere in his speech, the French president addressed Brexit, and said the UK could not “stay on the sidelines” despite its departure from the European Union.
He said European countries had to break away from economic dependence on the US and China.
Read more:
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“Our two countries are among the oldest sovereign nations in Europe, and sovereignty means a lot to both of us, and everything I referred to was about sovereignty, deciding for ourselves, choosing our technologies, our economy, deciding our diplomacy, and deciding the content we want to share and the ideas we want to share, and the controversies we want to share.
“Even though it is not part of the European Union, the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines because defence and security, competitiveness, democracy – the very core of our identity – are connected across Europe as a continent.”
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