{"id":199947,"date":"2023-11-24T18:16:08","date_gmt":"2023-11-24T12:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/?p=199947"},"modified":"2023-11-24T18:16:08","modified_gmt":"2023-11-24T12:46:08","slug":"btc-tests-year-to-date-highs-amid-spot-bitcoin-etf-progress-crypto-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/btc-tests-year-to-date-highs-amid-spot-bitcoin-etf-progress-crypto-news\/","title":{"rendered":"BTC Tests Year-To-Date Highs Amid Spot Bitcoin ETF Progress &#8211; Crypto News"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>BTC is retesting its year-to-date high as spot Bitcoin hopefuls BlackRock and Grayscale make progress on their applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.<\/p>\n<p>SEC <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/comments\/sr-nasdaq-2023-016\/srnasdaq2023016-301739-769762.pdf\">documentation<\/a> shows that on Nov. 20, seven representatives of BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, alongside four staff from Nasdaq, met with the SEC\u2019s Division of Trading and Markets to discuss Nasdaq\u2019s proposal to list shares in BlackRock\u2019s pending iShares Bitcoin Trust.<\/p>\n<p>The discussions centered around the redemption cycle for the proposed Bitcoin ETF, with BlackRock offering both \u201cin-kind\u201d and \u201cin-cash\u201d models facilitating the redemption of either Bitcoin or USD for shareholders respectively.<\/p>\n<p>According to Bloomberg ETF analysts James Seyffart and Eric Balchunas, BlackRock is more partial to offering in-kind redemptions while the SEC\u2019s preference is in-cash delivery.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBlackRock and ARK standing firm on in-kind\u2026 while word is that the SEC said you need to do cash creates (to avoid ppl using unregistered brokers) if you want to get out in the first batch,\u201d Balchunas <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EricBalchunas\/status\/1727347447301906645\">tweeted<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBased on this it looks like BlackRock prefers in-kind for their Bitcoin ETF (makes sense as its probably cleanest structure for them &amp; end investors),\u201d <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/JSeyff\/status\/1727341988436209903\">posted<\/a> Seyffart.<\/p>\n<p>BTC last changed hands for $37,673 after gaining 5% in two days, currently sitting a meager 0.6% shy of its year-to-date high of $38 posted on Nov. 16, according to CoinGecko.<\/p>\n<p>Expectations that BlackRock\u2019s proposed <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thedefiant.io\/wall-street-backed-bitcoin-etfs-pile-up-after-blackrock-s-filing\">spot Bitcoin ETF<\/a> could soon receive regulatory approval drove sharp gains for digital assets in recent months, with the combined cryptocurrency market cap growing 36% from $1.04T in mid-June to $1.42T today \u2014 its highest level since June 2022, according to CoinMarketCap.<\/p>\n<h2>Grayscale ETF progress<\/h2>\n<p>The SEC Division of Trading and Markets also met with Grayscale, the crypto-focussed asset manager, to discuss the company\u2019s bid to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF on the same day.<\/p>\n<p>Grayscale followed up with a new registration <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1588489\/000119312523282341\/d720350ds3a.htm\">filing<\/a> for the prospective fund on Nov. 22. Scott Johnsson, a finance lawyer, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sec.gov\/Archives\/edgar\/data\/1588489\/000119312523282341\/d720350ds3a.htm\">commented<\/a> that the filing contained \u201clittle meat.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"relative flex items-center gap-2 rounded-md bg-[#191919] p-2 my-4 lg:hidden\">\n<div class=\"relative group  flex w-max items-center gap-2  p-2 text-sm text-white mx-auto\"><strong class=\"whitespace-nowrap w-min sm:w-auto bg-gradient-to-r from-[#9FF9D2] to-[#DB9FF9] bg-clip-text text-transparent\">DeFi Alpha<\/strong><span class=\"whitespace-nowrap  w-min sm:w-auto border-l border-white pl-1 lg:hidden\">Premium Content<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"tooltip font-heading shadow-cta absolute hidden lg:visible left-6 z-10 -top-[80px] w-max max-w-xs translate-y-full flex-col rounded-lg bg-[#EEEEF4] p-3 text-left text-xs text-black group-hover:flex lg:left-auto lg:right-4\">Looking for Alpha? Become a premium member of The Defiant and join our DeFi Alpha community.<\/p>\n<ul class=\"list-inside list-disc\">\n<li>DeFi Daily | Weekdays<\/li>\n<li>DeFi Alpha Letter | Weekly<\/li>\n<li>Defiant Podcast Transcript | Weekly<\/li>\n<li>Inbox Dump | Saturday<\/li>\n<li>Weekly Recap | Sunday<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thedefiant.io\/go-premium#pricing\" class=\"disabled:bg-cta-disabled-background disabled:text-cta-disabled-text rounded font-semibold border-cta-primary-border bg-cta-primary-background text-cta-primary-text hover:border-cta-primary-border-hover hover:bg-cta-primary-background-hover ml-auto block p-2 text-center text-sm !text-black !no-underline shadow-newButton\">Start for free<\/a><\/div>\n<p>Johnsson highlighted expansive in-kind and \u201climited\u201d in-cash redemption processes, an agreement with BNY Mellon for the firm to act as the fund\u2019s transfer agent, and expanded risk disclosures as significant new inclusions.<\/p>\n<p>Grayscale first applied to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thedefiant.io\/grayscale-aims-to-turn-gbtc-into-an-etf\">convert<\/a> its Bitcoin Trust into a spot ETF in October 2021. The SEC rejected the application in June 2022, attributing its decision to insufficient protections against fraud.<\/p>\n<p>However, Grayscale appealed the decision, and on Aug. 29, the U.S. District of Columbia Court of Appeals sided with the asset issuer. The court ruled that Grayscale\u2019s application was \u201c<a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thedefiant.io\/markets-soar-on-us-court-ruling-in-grayscale-s-favor\">materially similar<\/a>\u201d to futures-based Bitcoin ETFs that previously received approval from the SEC. The SEC then <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/thedefiant.io\/grayscale-chainlink-trust-shares-rocket-to-200-premium\">declined<\/a> to contest the ruling in October, further fanning the flames of rampant ETF speculation in the crypto markets.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>BTC is retesting its year-to-date high as spot Bitcoin hopefuls BlackRock and Grayscale make progress on their applications with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. SEC documentation shows that on Nov. 20, seven representatives of BlackRock, the world\u2019s largest asset manager, alongside four staff from Nasdaq, met with the SEC\u2019s Division of Trading and Markets [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":112045,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[274,273,272,244,266,271,268,270,269,267],"class_list":["post-199947","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-de-fi","tag-crypto-finance","tag-decentralized-finance","tag-liquidity","tag-metamask","tag-pancake","tag-slippage","tag-sushiswap","tag-tronlink","tag-trust-wallet","tag-uniswap"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199947","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=199947"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199947\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":199951,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/199947\/revisions\/199951"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=199947"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=199947"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dripp.zone\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=199947"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}