Bitwise Makes a New Move in Spot Bitcoin ETF Filing: Will It Be Effective for Approval?

• Bitwise has submitted a detailed assessment of academic records related to the Bitcoin futures market to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
• While the SEC has approved ETFs based on Bitcoin futures contracts, it has not yet granted such approval for spot funds.
• The application stated that Bitwise submitted a 107-page whitepaper containing its findings and had met with SEC staff 14 times between January 2020 and August 2021.

Cryptocurrency asset manager Bitwise has filed academic records related to the Bitcoin futures market as an attachment to the existing spot Bitcoin ETF application submitted by NYSE Arca!

Bitwise Submits Additional File for Spot Bitcoin ETF

Cryptocurrency asset manager Bitwise submitted a detailed assessment of academic records related to the Bitcoin futures market to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sunday as an attachment to the existing spot Bitcoin ETF application submitted by NYSE Arca.

While the SEC has approved ETFs based on Bitcoin futures contracts, it has not yet granted such approval for spot funds. Bitwise has been seeking such approval for years, and its latest filing gives the SEC until October 16 to make a decision.

In its amended application for the proposed Bitwise fund, NYSE Arca said, ‘The Commission repeatedly highlighted the complex or inconclusive academic records regarding the lead-lag relationship between spot and futures markets and therefore believed that the first prong of the initial listing standard was not satisfied,’ and added:

‘To respond to all of the Commission’s questions about complex academic records, Sponsor reviewed the eleven orders referred to above and summarized all the critical questions posed by the Commission through these orders concerning the complex academic records.’

Academic Literature

Bitwise argued that it does not believe academic literature is not complex and added that the exchange ‘saw a high degree of consensus among well-designed studies showing that the CME futures market leads the spot market.’ The application stated that Bitwise submitted a 107-page whitepaper containing its findings and had met with SEC staff 14 times between January 2020 and August 2021.

Bitwise also submitted a separate 24-page whitepaper showing that a new Bitcoin fund is unlikely to ‘dominate prices in the CME Bitcoin futures market’ and argued that ‘a new spot Bitcoin ETF will not simultaneously become a dominant influence on prices in the spot market without having a dominant influence on prices in the CME Bitcoin futures market.’

NYSE Arca launched another section after stating, ‘Sponsor believes that academic records clearly demonstrate that the CME Bitcoin futures market leads the spot market and thus satisfies the first prong of the significant market test,’ and ‘the Commission has begun to comprehensively address the seven dissents regarding the Bitwise Decision II.’