- As expected, the fund will use the services of Coinbase
- The exchange will provide market information and act as a custodian
- The product is available under the name iShares Bitcoin Trust
- Prior to this, the SEC has not allowed any spot ETFs in BTC into the US market.
Yesterday, June 15, iShares, a division of the BlackRock Foundation, filed application to register a spot bitcoin ETF. As previously stated, the exchange product is developed in collaboration with Coinbase.
Recall that yesterday, some media reported that BlackRock is preparing a new trust for registration. And at that time it was not yet clear whether it would be a spot or futures ETF.
Judging by the statement of the company, the market data for the exchange-traded product will be provided by the Coinbase exchange. The platform will also act as a custodian for the physical assets of the trust.
Interestingly, neither BlackRock nor Coinbase commented on the situation. The fund chose a frankly bad time to launch a new product, and it is not completely clear what prompted such a decision.
Earlier in the US, there were several attempts to launch a spot bitcoin ETF. But all companies were rejected. In one case, a lawsuit was even filed against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Grayscale were unhappy with the decision of the regulator, calling it unreasonable. The company’s CEO predicts the company will win in court in the third quarter of this year.
However, BlackRock’s chances are still slightly higher. It is one of the largest funds in the world, managing $10 trillion in assets.