The approval of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin spot ETF is closer than ever after the latest news came directly from New York last night.
The investment fund filed by Larry Fink with the SEC has finally been listed with the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) under the ticker “ibtc,” suggesting that U.S. federal regulators may soon give the green light to trading.
This is a formal process that precedes an eventual listing of a financial security on the Nasdaq stock exchange, now increasingly likely for Bitcoin and its spot ETF offered by BlackRock.
As soon as the news hit the markets, BTC showed its muscles by going as high as $35,000 and printing +5.5% in just 15 minutes.
Have we just entered the long-awaited bull market phase? Are we warming our engines?
Let’s get some clarity in this article.
Summary
BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin spot ETF listed at DTCC: SEC approval is just around the corner after this news
Great news for the crypto market and hedge fund BlackRock, which is celebrating the first-ever listing of a Bitcoin spot ETF within the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC).
The latter is an American company that provides financial services such as clearing and settlement to the financial markets, acting as a middlemen between a product issuer and client.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas disclosed the historic event on his X account, saying that the listing with DTCC “is part of the process” that precedes the listing of an ETF on Nasdaq.
He stated that:
“This is the first spot ETF listed on DTCC […] Certainly BlackRock is responsible for these logistical aspects (seeding, ticker, dtcc) that tend to happen just prior to launch. Hard not to see this as them getting the signal that approval is certain/imminent.”
The iShares investment fund sponsored by BlackRock will be listed with the ticker “ibtc” and CUSIP code 46438F101.
Approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission is now in the air, and BlackRock could get the green light soon, as could the rest of the hedge funds such as Fidelity, VanEck, Ark and WisdomTree that have applied since June until now.
The SEC has until 10 January 2024 to make a final decision: although it is not yet certain that Larry Fink‘s Bitcoin spot ETF will be approved, by now a rejection has become highly unlikely.
Several elements portend that Nasdaq pricing is only a matter of time, and the latest news is just further confirmation.
Just yesterday, in fact, an SEC commissioner, Hester Peirce, clarified in a CNBC television interview that Gary Gensler’s hostility regarding the approval of an ETF for Bitcoin has always been a mysterious element within the U.S. agency.
These are his words:
“The logic of why we haven’t approved it yet has always puzzled me.”
Adding to this is another judicial thread, this time related to the battle between the SEC and Grayscale, which is tending toward a victory for Michael Sonnenshein and his firm.
Indeed, Grayscale re-filed its registration statement with the U.S. securities agency on Oct. 19, asking to permanently convert its GBTC Trust into an ETF on the New York Stock Exchange.
After just five days, the DC Circuit Court of Appeals issued its final ruling effectively ordering the agency to overturn the asset manager’s rejection of the spot bitcoin ETF application.
This news fortifies the initial ruling in which the court had previously called the SEC‘s decision “arbitrary and capricious.”
Gary Gensler’s back is now against the wall: BlackRock with its iShares ETF or Grayscale with its Trust conversion are about to be approved and there is nothing left to get in the way.
Bitcoin and the crypto community are celebrating in the markets: the introduction of the first regulated spot financial product at a U.S. exchange could bring trillions of dollars into the decentralized currency’s economy, with ”obvious effects on the asset’s price action.
Bitcoin unleashed on the market: has the bull market officially begun?
After last night’s super news with which it emerged that BlackRock is about to begin the initial seeding of its iShares ETF, Bitcoin showed all its manhood by closing at the daily candle with +10.26% on Binance in the pair with USDT.
From 00:30 AM to 00:45 AM, the cryptocurrency rose more than 5 percent with a truly remarkable parallel increase in volume.
In just under 15 minutes Bitcoin went from $32,000 to close to $35,000, then finally reached a few hours later.
At the time of writing, BTC is at $34,000 and is looking for a base of support in order to continue its bullish leg.
In the short term, considering the extent of the move and technical indicators signaling over-exuberance, it is likely that we will see a slight retracement on the chart.
There will be cause for concern if this does not happen, as it would be a distinctive sign of uncontrolled FOMO in crypto markets.
Still referring to short-term speculation, it is interesting to analyze how during the bullish push that occurred overnight, the aggregate open interest on Bitcoin dropped significantly, seeing about $1 billion evaporate within an hour.
This means that several positions were closed/liquidated: looking closely at the situation and cross-checking with Coinglass data, however, we realize that the liquidations were not as large as might have been expected, and hence the drop in open interest is more likely attributable to some traders deciding to take profit.
This single piece of data gives us a glimpse of bitcoin’s strength in the last few hours, which following a killer rally may calm down momentarily and find a support area on which a solid structure can be built.
Hence, beware of going after the long right now.
Beyond the momentary repercussions, last night’s move represents a distinctive start-up signal for crypto’s bullish seasonality, with the understanding that it will be confirmed by a positive weekly close for Bitcoin.
With the news of the almost certain approval of BlackRock’s iShares ETF, traders are preparing for significant capital entry within the crypto markets.
After the long crypto winter here is Bitcoin making a comeback, in line with the historical cyclicality of its movements, where it faces a period of uncontrolled rises every four years.
2024, the year where yet another halving of the cryptocurrency will occur, and year after that we will likely see the first drop in US interest rates by the FED after the tightening easing that has characterized the last two years, could be the year of Bitcoin’s bull run.
Here we go bitcoiners, buckle up: the BlackRock iShares ETF is coming and along with it the long-awaited bull market.
