The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, seems to be forging ahead with its plan to launch its Spot Bitcoin ETF, subject to approval by the SEC. A recent development shows that the asset manager already seeded this fund as part of its preparation.
BlackRock Seeded Its Bitcoin ETF In October
BlackRock recently filed an amendment to its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). One of the highlights of this latest amendment was the fact that the asset manager seeded the ETF back in October. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas also noted this development in a recent X post while stating how insignificant the seeding fee of $100,000 was.
BlackRock seeding its ETF might, however, not come as a surprise to some as the asset manager had earlier made known its intention to do this. Bitcoinist reported back in October that the asset manager had revealed its intention to seed its BTC ETF that month. In line with that, the ETF’s seed capital investor purchased $100,000 in shares on October 27.
Balchunas had previously provided an insight into what “seeding” was all about. He explained that this was simply an initial funding that would be used to purchase a few creation units. Basically, the asset manager has created some shares for its Spot BTC ETF, which can be traded as soon as the first day of launch.
Balchunas also mentioned that seeding doesn’t usually involve a lot of money, which would explain why the seeding amount stands at $100,000. Meanwhile, this doesn’t necessarily mean that BlackRock has started purchasing BTC just yet, especially considering that the SEC is still against the in-kind model.
All Eyes On January
Bloomberg Analyst James Seyffart recently stated that there is a potential approval window between January 5 and 10. At the moment, there seems to be so much optimism that the SEC would approve these Spot Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously. While reacting to BlackRock’s latest amendment, Seyffart mentioned that this means that the “wheel is turning.”
The SEC has been meeting with several filers to “iron things out,” and Seyffart noted that these amendments are simply the products of the conversations between both sides. It is worth mentioning that BlackRock isn’t the only asset manager that recently filed an amended prospectus, as Bitwise also did.
Balchunas expects other filers to make amendments to their prospectus this week in response to comments from the SEC. Meanwhile, both Seyffart and Balchunas had previously mentioned that approval doesn’t exactly equate to the funds launching instantly.
There are apparently two paths that need to be cleared before these Spot Bitcoin ETFs can launch. The first is the 19b-4 approval, which is expected to come in January. After that is done, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance will then need to sign off on the S-1 filings.