10+ Years of Long March Bitcoin Spot ETF Key Turning Points and Historic Moments

The long journey of more than ten years, bitcoin spot etf January 10, 2024 This time it was really passed by the SEC.

I don’t know if it’s predestined or it’s just a coincidence that on the same day 15 years ago, bitcoin pioneer Hal Finney posted the first tweet about bitcoin, “Running bitcoin! “.

Back in 2013, the Winklevoss twin brothers began applying for a Bitcoin Spot ETF with the U.S. SEC, but over the ensuing decade-plus multi-round crypto cycle, a number of traditional investment institutions such as VanEck, BitWise, Shades of Gray, Ark Invest, and others have continued to pummel the Bitcoin Spot ETF application, even as the U.S. SEC approved in October 2021 the ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF, but the U.S. SEC has consistently rejected all Bitcoin spot ETF applications. Bitcoin Miner

It wasn’t until June 2023 that traditional financial giants such as BlackRock and Fidelity joined the Bitcoin Spot ETF application, and the historical process accelerated considerably. on January 10, 2024, the Bitcoin Spot ETF got a historic breakthrough and was finally approved by the U.S. SEC.

Over the past 10 years or so, Bitcoin has gone from holding up an ideological revolt against traditional finance to making its way into the traditional financial system, and January 10, 2024 saw a historic moment for Bitcoin as it entered a new chapter.

Bitcoin Spot ETF Application: 10 Years of Long Journey
The application for the Bitcoin Spot ETF has been a long journey over 10 years, spanning multiple crypto cycles.

2013: The Beginning of a Bitcoin Spot ETF
Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust: Back in July 2013, 10 years ago, the Winklevoss twin brothers first filed an application for a U.S. bitcoin spot ETF, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, which was subsequently rejected by the U.S. SEC.

After the crypto bull market of 2017, Bitcoin futures were listed on mainstream US exchanges, and with the increase in the value of Bitcoin and the crypto experience gained by US financial institutions, financial institutions one after another began to target Bitcoin ETFs.

Shades of Gray Bitcoin Trust GBTC: GBTC began fundraising back in 2013, filed an ETF application with the US SEC in 2016, and had conversations with the SEC for most of 2017, but then chose to withdraw its application.Litecoin Miner

The Winklevoss brothers resubmitted their Bitcoin Spot ETF application in March 2017, which was again rejected by the SEC in July of the same year. The SEC’s reason for the rejection was that the lack of regulation in the bitcoin market raised “concerns about potentially fraudulent or manipulative acts and practices.”

VanEck Bitcoin Trust: In August 2018 asset management firm VanEck and blockchain technology firm SolidX partnered to submit an application for a VanEck Bitcoin Trust Bitcoin spot ETF, which was rejected in September 2019 by the SEC.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust: in January 2019 Bitwise Asset Management submitted an application for a bitcoin spot ETF. However, the application was withdrawn in January 2020 due to SEC concerns.

Kryptoin Bitcoin Trust: Delaware-based Kryptoin made its first attempt to apply for a bitcoin spot ETF in October 2019, with a proposed listing on NYSE Arca, which was rejected by the SEC at the end of the same year.

2021: Bitcoin Spot ETFs Gaining Institutional Recognition
The crypto bull market of 2021 saw Bitcoin as an asset gain more acceptance as an asset among financial professionals in the U.S., the world’s largest financial market, as a number of U.S.-listed companies, such as Tesla, bought Bitcoin or accepted Bitcoin as payment. There has been a small wave of bitcoin spot ETF applications.

First up is the Toronto Stock Exchange-listed Purpose Bitcoin ETF, with Purpose Investments launching its first bitcoin spot ETF product, the Purpose Bitcoin ETF, in February 2021.

Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund: asset management firm Valkyrie filed its first Bitcoin ETF application in January 2021. it was rejected by the US SEC at the end of 2021. However, in early 2022, Valkyrie’s Bitcoin Mining ETF was successfully approved by the SEC. The Bitcoin Mining ETF includes Bitcoin mining companies such as Argo Blockchain, Bitfarms, Cleanspark, Hive Blockchain and Stronghold Digital Mining.

WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust: New York-based asset management firm WisdomTree filed an S-1 with the SEC in March 2021 proposing to list the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust on the Cboe BZX exchange under the ticker symbol BTCW. The SEC rejected the WisdomTree application in late 2021. WisdomTree’s application.WisdomTree had launched a bitcoin ETF on the SIX Swiss Exchange in 2019.

Ark21Shares ETF: In June 2021 Ark Invest, an investment firm led by Wall Street star investor Cathie Wood, partnered with Swiss ETF provider 21Shares AG to submit an application for an Ark21Shares ETF to be traded on Cboe’s BZX under the ticker symbol ARKB. Its application was rejected in early 2022. The application was rejected in early 2022.Ark Invest then immediately reapplied and was rejected again in January 2023.Ark Invest filed a further application on April 25, 2023.Ark Invest also filed a new application for a Bitwise Bitcoin ETF on the BZX.

Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust: Bitwise re-launched its application in October 2021 and was rejected by the US SEC in November. The U.S. SEC’s reasoning was that the Cboe BZX exchange “has not yet determined that other means are adequate to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”

Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF: Galaxy Digital and Invesco jointly filed a Bitcoin ETF on September 22, 2021, called the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF, which was rejected again in late 2021.

Kryptoin Bitcoin Trust: Kryptoin’s second attempt to launch a Bitcoin ETF in April 2021 was similarly rejected by the U.S. SEC in late 2021 after repeated delays in deferring approval.

Global X Bitcoin Trust: Global X Digital Assets submitted an application to the SEC in July 2021 for a spot Bitcoin ETF, Global X Bitcoin Trust, to be traded on the Cboe BZX exchange. the SEC repeatedly deferred deferred approval, and the application was rejected in March 2022 by the SEC.

Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC: January 2020 Grayscale becomes an SEC reporting company. on November 29, 2021 Grayscale submits an application to convert its GBTC into an ETF. on June 29, 2022 the SEC denies the application to convert Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC into an ETF, and the next day Grayscale files a petition with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit with a petition for review. The parties opened a tug-of-war of litigation for over a year until August 2023 when Grayscale won its case against the U.S. SEC.

2023: A New Wave of Bitcoin Spot ETFs
First, Ark 21Shares initiated its latest filing in April 2023, then BlackRock’s entrance in June 2023 and the gray win against the U.S. SEC in August ushered in the Bitcoin Spot ETF Turning Point and witnessed a new wave of Bitcoin Spot ETFs.

Turning Point: BlackRock’s Entry, Gray-Scale Victory in SEC Case and Subjugation of CoinSafe
In the history of Bitcoin spot ETF filings, the turning point comes in the second half of 2023 with three landmark events.

One, a change in attitude toward Bitcoin by management giant BlackRock. Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, changed his negative attitude towards Bitcoin in 2023, recognizing BTC as a global asset that can “outperform any currency. 1 registration statement with the U.S. SEC on June 15, officially launching the application for its spot bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust. BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF filing is notable because BlackRock has a near-perfect track record of obtaining ETF approvals, with 255 successes out of 256.

In addition to Grayscale, Ark 21Shares, after BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF filing, BitwiseVanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco & Galaxy, Fidelity, Valkyrie, Global X, Hashdex, Franklin, Pando have one after another either reapplied or newly joined the application, igniting a new round of bitcoin spot ETF fever.

Except for Grayscale and Ark 21Shares the other 11 bitcoin spot ETFs are all filing after June 2023

Second, Grayscale v. U.S. SEC was a major victory. After the U.S. SEC repeatedly refused to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a Bitcoin ETF, Grayscale chose to sue the U.S. SEC. on August 29, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit granted Grayscale’s petition, in which the court found that the U.S. SEC had adopted a double standard for Bitcoin Spot and Derivatives but could not justify the necessity of adopting such a double standard, and therefore the court required the SEC to treat Grayscale’s spot ETF applications equally, requiring review of the U.S. SEC’s denial of its application to convert GBTC to a spot bitcoin ETF.

Despite the fact that the U.S. SEC still chose to delay its resolution of the Spot Bitcoin ETF on the deadline several times during the second half of 2023. However, because of the two main reasons above, the market generally expects the spot Bitcoin ETF to be passed eventually.

As a result, the crypto market repeatedly speculated across the board about a spot Bitcoin ETF in the second half of 2023.

The classic example is the Cointelegraph fake news story.

Cointelegraph Fake News Event

On October 16, 2023, Cointelegraph published the fake news story “SEC Approves BlackRock’s iShare Bitcoin Spot ETF” and several ETFs filed for ticker symbols at the DTCC, triggering a jump in the bitcoin market from $27,000 to $35,000, a rise of $4.5 billion. dollars.

Although the news was false at the time, the market proved to believe the news ahead of time.

Third, the U.S. government subdued the crypto industry’s largest exchange, CoinShares. on November 21, 2023, CoinShares reached a settlement with several departments, including the U.S. Department of Justice, Treasury, and CFTC, pleading guilty to a fine of more than $4 billion, which gave the U.S. government access to CoinShares’ data and the ability to station monitors. Although the U.S. SEC is not among these departments, this represents, to some extent, partial regulation of the bitcoin spot market by the U.S. government. The main reason the U.S. SEC has repeatedly rejected bitcoin spot ETFs is the lack of regulation and the existence of market manipulation in the bitcoin spot market, and with CoinSafe being overseen by the U.S. government, it may be possible to partially remove the U.S. SEC’s concerns. At the same time, if the U.S. SEC approves a bitcoin spot ETF, it could even allow Wall Street to take control of bitcoin spot market pricing.

Why the SEC has previously delayed approving a bitcoin spot ETF
Compared to the launch of the Bitcoin futures ETF, the process of approving the Bitcoin spot ETF has been a protracted one.

After ProShares’ first bitcoin futures ETF was approved in October 2021, five bitcoin futures ETFs were allowed to trade in the following year. However, all of the bitcoin spot ETF applications were denied in their entirety.

According to the SEC’s previous statements rejecting multiple bitcoin spot ETFs, the main reasons for their rejection are:

First, spot cryptocurrencies are mainly traded on unregulated trading platforms, which are difficult to regulate, and the spot market has a long history of market manipulation.

This is also the main rhetoric of the U.S. SEC’s repeated rejection of bitcoin spot ETFs. Bitcoin futures ETFs have fewer problems in this regard. First, bitcoin futures ETFs track assets from CME bitcoin futures, which are regulated by the CFTC and have higher compliance. Second, the secondary market for the underlying assets of the Bitcoin Futures ETF is much more mature. the CME is the largest derivatives exchange in the U.S. and the world, and compared to crypto CEXs such as Coinbase, OKX, Coinbase, and others, the CME has established a complete pre-market, after-market, block, market making, and clearing, settlement, and other trading systems. According to Bitwise’s paper, CME’s bitcoin futures market leads the spot market and is the primary source of price discovery in the global bitcoin market.

In terms of the bitcoin spot market, it is now much improved.2023 In November 2023 the world’s largest exchange, CoinShares, and its CEO pleaded guilty to the U.S. government, which has been able to access CoinShares data and regulate CoinShares.

Second, BTC spot ETFs contain pensions, retirement funds, etc. in their investment funds, while the crypto market is highly volatile, which can lead to huge losses for investors.

Third, and finally, the regulatory acts are different. Bitcoin futures ETFs are subject to