BlackRock Seeding in October To Debut Its Spot Bitcoin ETF, Ahead of Rivals

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, is planning to seed its spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in October, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Monday. Is this the reason why Bitcoin’s price surges past $31,000 for first time since July?

The BlackRock Bitcoin Trust will invest directly in bitcoin and will use Coinbase Custody Trust Company as its custodian. The trust will track the performance of the Bloomberg Galaxy Bitcoin Index, which measures the price of bitcoin based on five trading venues.

BlackRock stating in their recent spot Bitcoin ETF amendment that they are seeding the ETF in October. Don’t want to read that much into it but it is new info not in original filing so noteworthy (esp bc they BlackRock). Great catch by Scott. https://t.co/CGBmuTJ7W0

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 23, 2023

BlackRock is one of the first major asset managers to file for a spot bitcoin ETF in the U.S., following the approval of several bitcoin futures ETFs by the SEC earlier this month. The spot bitcoin ETFs are considered more attractive by some investors, as they offer lower fees and more direct exposure to the underlying asset.

However, the spot bitcoin ETFs also face more regulatory hurdles, as the SEC has expressed concerns about the potential for fraud and manipulation in the bitcoin market. The SEC has not yet approved any spot bitcoin ETFs, and it is unclear whether it will do so in the near future.

BlackRock is competing with other firms that have also filed for spot bitcoin ETFs, such as Fidelity, VanEck, WisdomTree, and Valkyrie. If BlackRock succeeds in launching its spot bitcoin ETF in October, it will have a first-mover advantage over its rivals and could attract more investors to its product.