BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager and one of the front-runners in the race to issue the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States, is expected to purchase $10 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) on Jan. 3, according to analysts.
On Dec. 23, market research analyst James Seyffart posted on X (formerly Twitter), highlighting BlackRock’s intentions to seed its ETF with the Bitcoin it plans to purchase.
Before this -- SEED MOVEMENTS DO NOT MEAN LAUNCH
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) December 22, 2023
Looking like BlackRock is *planning* to make moves on Jan 3rd. They're seeding the ETF with $10 million. But maybe means BlackRock would be expecting a launch to happen shortly after? pic.twitter.com/PknXs5B2TP
Seyffart followed up on the post by saying that the document that mentions the BTC purchase is not final, approved, or “effective” — though the purchase would “jive with our Jan. approval prediction.”
He said that an injection of capital wouldn’t necessarily mean the launch of the ETF but that BlackRock could be expecting a release shortly after. According to Seyffart, the inclusion of the Jan. 3 date is just “teasing,” and he drew the parallel to the date being that of the genesis block of Bitcoin.
A user on X asked Seyffart if $10 million is the seed size he would expect, to which Seyffart responded that it’s “fairly standard” but is also “subject to change.”
Related: 5 reasons why a spot Bitcoin ETF approval could send BTC price above $100K
In late December, Eric Balchunas, a Bloomberg analyst, also posted about the anticipated purchase on Jan 3., saying that BlackRock’s $10 million BTC purchase would be a “pretty big bump” from its initial $100,000 seed funding back in October.
BlackRock expecting to seed $IBIT w/ $10 million on Jan 3rd.. notable the date and that it is a pretty big bump up from the $100k they seeded in Oct. https://t.co/cV22QYz3Do
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) December 22, 2023
Balchunas also posted about Bitwise’s Form S-1 being filed, with Bitwise intending to seed its pending spot Bitcoin ETF with $200 million, which Balchunas said “blows away” what BlackRock plans to purchase.
“That’s gonna be a huge help in the early days of the race. No AP named but prob forthcoming.”
While Jan. 3 has been predicted as the date for BlackRock purchasing its Bitcoin seed funding, there have also been multiple alternative reports stating the date has been pushed back to Jan. 5. Both dates are still speculative.
Cointelegraph reached out to BlackRock for further information on the matter and has yet to receive a response.
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission set the deadline for amendments to spot Bitcoin ETF applications for Dec. 29, 2023, with BlackRock, Van Eck and Valkyrie all filing last-minute amendments.
The SEC’s decision on the ETFs is anticipated by analysts to be announced by Jan. 10.
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