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Portfolio > ETFs

Wood’s Ark Adds Possible ‘Silver Bullet’ to Bitcoin ETF Filing

By Katie Greifeld & Vildana Hajric

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Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management and digital-asset manager 21Shares amended their application for a U.S. spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded fund to add a surveillance-sharing agreement.

The CBOE options exchange expects to enter into such an agreement with “an operator of a United States-based trading platform for Bitcoin,” according to Wednesday’s updated filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The language mimics a clause in BlackRock Inc.’s spot Bitcoin ETF filing, which landed roughly two weeks ago.

“These agreements would provide more transparency to the market and make crypto markets more consistently integrated with the way in which markets are surveilled in the United States,” said Ophelia Snyder, co-founder and president of 21Shares.

The tweaked filing comes two days after ARK analyst Yassine Elmandjra wrote that other applicants should be able to add surveillance-sharing agreement to existing filings “at little cost.”

The move theoretically places ARK and 21Shares ahead of BlackRock in the race to launch the first U.S. spot-Bitcoin ETF, given that they filed in April, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.

“If the SEC just needed that — if that’s the silver bullet — now they both have silver bullets,” Bloomberg Intelligence senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said. “Since ARK and 21Shares filed first, you’d have to approve them first.”

Bloomberg chart of June 28, 2023, showing

The SEC has repeatedly rejected previous attempts to launch physically backed Bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns such as market manipulation.

The regulator has stated numerous times its desire for surveillance-sharing agreements with a “regulated market of significant size,” according to a Bloomberg Intelligence report.

The cryptocurrency market has rallied broadly since BlackRock’s application arrived in mid-June thanks to the asset-manager’s stature on Wall Street. Bitcoin has surged more than 21% since, boosting prices above $30,000.

(Photo Credit: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg)

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