By
Godfrey Benjamin
June 28th, 2024
The Nasdaq exchange refiled the Bitcoin ETF application after the SEC insisted the earlier documents were not clear despite being issued by the BlackRock investment fund manager.
The Bitcoin market edged about 2 percent higher in the past 24 hours to trade around $31.2k on Tuesday after the Nasdaq Stock Market LLC re-filed a form 19b-4 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission to list a Spot Bitcoin ETF issued by BlackRock Inc (NYSE: BLK), the world’s leading asset manager with more than $9 trillion in Asset Under Management (AUM). Notably, Nasdaq re-applied to list a BlackRock-backed Spot Bitcoin ETF after clarifying to the SEC that it would work with Coinbase Global Inc (NASDAQ: COIN) through a surveillance-sharing agreement.
The consistent push to have the first Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) approved in the United States clearly demonstrates the rising demand from institutional investors. Moreover, interested retail traders can always purchase real Bitcoin units through different platforms like Coinbase, and Bitcoin Depot, among many others.
“The Exchange proposes to list and trade the Shares under Nasdaq Rule 5711(d),3 which governs the listing and trading of Commodity-Based Trust Shares on the Exchange. … The Spot BTC SSA is expected to be a bilateral surveillance-sharing agreement between Nasdaq and Coinbase that is intended to supplement the Exchanges’ market surveillance program,” Nasdaq noted.
The likelihood of the BlackRock-backed Bitcoin ETF getting approved by the SEC dramatically increased following the re-application. According to experts, the SEC should not claim Coinbase is running an illegal business yet the government and top companies are using it to access the crypto liquidity.
Yes sir. Yes sir it does. https://t.co/2AQf2gJvha
— paulgrewal.eth (@iampaulgrewal) July 3, 2023
Market Implications for BlackRock-backed Bitcoin ETF
The Bitcoin market has grown exponentially in the past decade and is expected to rally further in the next, perhaps overtaking that of precious metals like Gold. The Bitcoin interest by BlackRock is expected to trigger a major bullish outlook for the crypto market, one year ahead of the halving event. Following the announcement of the Bitcoin ETF application by several institutional investors led by BlackRock, Bitcoin’s price has traded above $30k and is currently retesting crucial resistance that could yield $40k soon.
Meanwhile, Coinbase shares gained approximately 12 percent on Monday to close the day trading around $79.93. The $16.79 billion valued crypto company has undoubtedly secured a brighter future with increased investments from institutional investors. Moreover, COIN shares have gained about 125 percent YTD although most analysts have issued a hold rating for the company.
Perhaps the conservative price targets by most analysts on the COIN market are due to the ongoing lawsuit filed by the SEC for allegedly listing unregistered securities and offering unregulated products like staking as a service.