All eyes are on BlackRock.
After last year’s carnage of FTX and other high-profile fallouts, the crypto industry is pinning its hopes on legacy finance muscling through the long-awaited Bitcoin spot ETF.
In addition to BlackRock, Fidelity and Ark Investments have filed for Bitcoin spot ETFs, paving the way for institutional capital to flood into the digital asset. Crypto exchanges like Coinbase (who will be BlackRock’s surveillance sharing partner for the ETF) may clash with the SEC, but Wall Street routinely works with the agency to push through these financial products.
While it isn’t a guarantee we will see a Bitcoin spot ETF soon – even BlackRock isn’t immune to the SEC’s stonewalling and its surveillance partner remains under investigation – it is looking increasingly likely, especially with the pressure of multiple firms coinciding with the momentum from Ripple Labs’ partially successful lawsuit.
This op-ed is part of CoinDesk’s 2023 Mining Week, sponsored by Foundry.Samir Tabar is CEO of Bit Digital, a bitcoin mining company listed on Nasdaq (BTBT).
The arrival of a spot ETF would be a milestone for crypto and is made possible by the miners who have ensured the integrity of the Bitcoin network. From early test validations following the publication of the Bitcoin white paper to the buildout of entire operations across the United States, Asia, and Europe, the past decade has been fascinating for mining, and miners again find themselves at a crucial inflection point to shape the industry as stakeholders.
Adoption is bittersweet
In the years leading up to the recent flurry of spot filings, publicly-traded mining companies were how institutional investors gained exposure to Bitcoin. Due to the lack of regulatory clarity for digital assets, investors opted for traditional financial vehicles with stock offerings and compliance requirements, which also alleviated the burden of self-custody. While several other low-maintenance options existed for exposure to Bitcoin, including purchasing Microstrategy stock or the Grayscale Futures ETF, miners were always closer to the core product.
The inevitable spot ETF backed by a major financial institution like BlackRock or Fidelity is bittersweet. Approval of any one of these ETFs by the SEC would signal a regulatory green light while…
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