ARK Invest and 21Shares Request SEC's Approval for Its BTC Financial Product

ARK Invest and European crypto investment firm 21Shares are unwavering in their quest to create a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US, despite facing regulatory pushbacks.

On April 25th, ARK Invest and 21Shares submitted a third request for the Securities and Exchange Commission's approval of its spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF). 

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The BTC ETF approval journey began on June 28th, 2021, when the two companies first filed for the creation of a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Unfortunately, the SEC denied their request in April 2022, stating that it didn't comply with the necessary regulations for listing a financial product. Despite that, ARK and 21Shares tried once again in May 2022, only to be met with rejection on January 26th, 2023.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs are designed to give investors indirect exposure to Bitcoin by providing shares that track BTC's real-time price without holding the cryptocurrency.

It is worth noting that the SEC has given the green light to several Bitcoin Futures ETFs, which focus on the potential future value of BTC. However, it has consistently rejected spot Bitcoin ETFs, concerned with safeguarding investors and the public interest against fraudulent activities and manipulation.

Despite the setbacks, experts from Bloomberg suggest that a spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved in the US by mid-2023.

ARK Invest and 21Shares aren't the only companies attempting to get SEC's approval for their spot BTC ETF. Digital Currency Group (DCG) was attempting to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF and took legal action against the SEC for denying its proposal.

So, will ARK Invest and 21Shares finally hit a home run with their third attempt? Time will tell.