Fidelity Investments, which manages $11 trillion in assets, has renewed efforts to launch a spot-listed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) listed on the CBOE, according to a new CBOE filing with the Securities and Exchange. Commission (SEC) of the United States.
Key points to remember
- Cboe has filed for listing of a new bitcoin cash ETF managed by Fidelity Investments.
- Fidelity had previously seen its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust application rejected by the SEC.
- Many traditional financial institutions have recently entered the race to launch the first bitcoin spot ETF in the United States following a request from BlackRock earlier this month.
Fidelity mirrors traditional finance push for crypto
Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust has previously been rejected by the SEC, but this new Cboe filing indicates that Fidelity is once again trying to seek regulatory approval for its bitcoin spot ETF.
The move comes after BlackRock (BLK) filed for a spot ETF and follows in the footsteps of other traditional financial institutions such as Invesco (IVZ) and Wisdomtree (WT) who re-submitted their previously rejected applications.
Market watchers took note of these developments, seeing them as important because of BlackRock's reputation and confidence in securing regulatory approval. Investors also followed suit, driving bitcoin prices to new highs.
There have been dozens of attempts to launch a spot-bitcoin product in the past, but many have been met with opposition from regulators citing market concerns and investor protection.
One of the reasons commentators have been optimistic about the prospect of BlackRock's bitcoin ETF approval is that it includes a supervisory sharing agreement with an anonymous US-based bitcoin exchange, and this type of arrangement is also mentioned in the recent Cboe filing.
Other issuers, including Valkyrie, Bitwise, VanEck and ARK Investment Management, are still hoping to gain regulatory approval this time around. Notably, this is not the only area of crypto where traditional financial powerhouses are getting involved, as a new crypto asset exchange backed by Charles Schwab (SCHW), Fidelity and others has also recently launched.
This newfound interest from traditional financial institutions has clearly breathed new life into the crypto market after the industry was rocked by SEC lawsuits against crypto exchange giants Binance and Coinbase (COIN).