- Bitcoin faced price dip as ETF uncertainty grew.
- Fidelity, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan showed growing interest in Bitcoin ETFs.
Fidelity Investments, a prominent U.S. asset manager, took a major step on 3rd January by filing for the registration of its spot Bitcoin ETF with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). It filed a Form 8-A with the SEC to register its Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund.
The news comes amid a recent report from Matrixport which intensified speculation by asserting that chances of SEC approving any ETF in January is low.
Bitcoin [BTC] faced a significant downturn in its price as well over the last 24 hours as uncertainty captured the market.
Nevertheless, the SEC’s approval process for Fidelity is underway, with the registration already greenlit by the Cboe exchange under the symbol FBTC.
Despite being in the preliminary stages, analysts anticipate progress in the coming week.
My understanding here is that this is just a securities registration. In order to list the ETF still needs a 19b-4 approval and they need an effective/approved/completed S-1 document. No 19b-4 yet. And S-1 is still preliminary (seen below). I’m still looking towards next week https://t.co/VsgbpJHMVp pic.twitter.com/Iu31AkUswP
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 3, 2024
Institutional interest grows
The intrigue in the ETF narrative extended beyond Fidelity Investments. Major banks such as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase has also reportedly entered the ETF scene, drawing considerable attention.
Media reports indicated that Grayscale Investments, a crypto asset manager, was in discussions with financial giants, including JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, for potential involvement in its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF.
At press time, Grayscale’s SEC filing lacked the listing of authorized participants, indicating ongoing negotiations.
Goldman Sachs, which has been aiming to serve as an “authorized participant” (AP) in these ETFs, plays a pivotal role in managing ETFs by facilitating the creation and redemption of shares in the fund.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-24
ETF issuers can designate multiple financial firms as authorized participants. While Goldman Sachs has expressed its intent, other financial firms still have an opportunity to join.
The collective influence of these Wall Street giants is expected to shape Bitcoin’s trajectory. The cryptocurrency, trading at $42,544.09 at press time, experienced a 4.9% decline in the last 24 hours.
Source: Santiment