CoinShares Analyst Bendiksen: BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Approval a Long Shot

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is yet to decide on the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, with BlackRock’s application raising hopes.
• Chris Bendiksen, head of the Bitcoin research team at CoinShares, believes the approval of BlackRock’s application is a long shot.
• Bendiksen maintains that despite adjustments in BlackRock’s applications and a surveillance-sharing agreement between Coinbase and CBOE, the approval of a spot ETF is unlikely.

Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval: A Long Shot?

BlackRock’s Application Raises Hopes

There’s been a significant amount of anticipation surrounding the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision on the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF. BlackRock, a global investment management corporation, recently submitted an application, which has sparked hope among cryptocurrency enthusiasts. This development has had a positive impact on Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency prices over the past month.

CoinShares’ Chris Bendiksen’s Skepticism

Despite the optimism, Chris Bendiksen, the head of the Bitcoin research team at CoinShares, a digital asset investment firm, has a different view. He believes that the chances of BlackRock’s application getting approved are slim. Following the rally brought about by BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF application, Bendiksen claims that buyer exhaustion has set in. Despite Bitcoin’s price rising above $30,000 after the development, it has been moving sideways for a while now.

Challenges to Spot ETF Approval

Bendiksen maintains that despite adjustments in BlackRock’s applications and a surveillance-sharing agreement between Coinbase and CBOE, the approval of a spot ETF is unlikely. He emphasized that the SEC has repeatedly demanded surveillance agreements with markets that have a significant amount of Bitcoin volume, which he sees as a hurdle to spot ETF approval. He further noted that most of the Bitcoin spot volume is on exchanges outside the U.S., complicating the situation.

Additionally, Bendiksen acknowledged that public comments made by BlackRock’s CEO, Larry Fink, have given Bitcoin significant momentum. He believes that Fink’s positive remarks about Bitcoin on major financial media outlets are beneficial in their own right. He also added that he expects the process leading up to Bitcoin’s halving to attract significant media attention, reinforcing the strength of Bitcoin’s hard money policy.