ETF Approval Might Hit the Spot
Market Meditations | September 16, 2022
Another Bitcoin futures ETF might have more implications than meets the eye. Hashdex, a crypto asset management firm, was granted approval differently than its colleagues.
- The BTC ETF was granted approval under the Securities Act of 1933, instead of the Investment Company Act of 1940.
- The Hashdex Bitcoin Futures Exchange Traded Fund was announced yesterday, making it “the world’s first Bitcoin Futures ETF registered solely under the Securities Act of 1933.“
- Numerous Bitcoin Futures ETFs have been approved, but Hashdex’s approval under the ’33 Act, might prove to be a turning point in the SEC’s attitude regarding Bitcoin spot ETFs.
- Bitcoin spot ETF applications have all been rejected. The most recent high-profile case belongs to Grayscale, which sued the SEC in response to the rejection.
- The key difference in the classification revolves around the fact that the ’40 Act automatically disqualifies approval of spot-based products, while the ’33 Act does not.
TIP: Spot-based products are for immediate buying and selling. Futures contracts delay payment to dates set in the future. A Bitcoin spot ETF may attract institutional adoption on a massive scale.
It is probably only a matter of time before a spot Bitcoin ETF gains approval. When it does, some institutional investors will go from waiting in the wings to taking centre stage.
