The iShares spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by investment firm BlackRock has been listed on the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), signaling potential approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
In an October 23 thread (formerly Twitter), Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said He said The DTCC listing was “part of the process” of bringing cryptocurrency ETFs to the market. The iShares Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF has the ticker symbol IBTC for a potential Nasdaq listing, which was applied to the listing and trading of shares of the investment vehicle in June.
“This is the first ETF listed on the DTCC, none of the others have been listed there (yet),” Balchunas said. “High profile BlackRock is responsible for leading these logistics (seeding, index, dtcc) that tend to happen right before launch. It’s hard not to see this as a signal that approval is certain/imminent.”
iShares Bitcoin Trust is listed on the DTCC (Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, which clears NASDAQ trades). It will be the indicator $IBTC. Again, it’s all part of the process of bringing the ETF to market.. h/t @martypartymusic pic.twitter.com/8PQP3h2yW0
– Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) October 23, 2023
Balchunas forecast That BlackRock may have already received the green light to list the ETF from the SEC or is “preparing for everything to assume so.” Depending on the date of BlackRock’s application, the SEC has until January 10, 2024 to reach a final decision on approval or disapproval of the ETF.
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If BlackRock’s application is approved, it could open the floodgates to a number of spot cryptocurrency ETF filings currently being reviewed by the SEC, including those from ARK Investment, Fidelity, and Valkyrie. To date, the SEC has not approved an immediate application to list Bitcoin or Ethereum (ETH) on a US exchange but it began allowing investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin futures in October 2021.
BTCC’s listing follows the US Court of Appeals issuing enforcement of an August 29 decision requiring the SEC to review Grayscale Investments’ spot BTC ETF application. Grayscale filed a registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission to list shares of its Bitcoin Fund on the New York Stock Exchange Arca under the ticker symbol GBTC on October 19.
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Update (October 24 at 3:25 PM UTC): BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin ETF has been removed from the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation listing.