By George Kaloudis
Compilation: BitpushNews Mary Liu
Financial institutions are looking at cryptocurrencies with fresh eyes and have flocked to them.
Last week, news that BlackRock (BLK) had filed for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund ( ETF ) ignited enthusiasm in the industry. This week, another large asset manager, Invesco (IVZ), reapplied for a spot bitcoin ETF. Large ETF provider WisdomTree filed the same again, (WisdomTree's application was originally rejected by the SEC in 2022).
Other institutions also rushed to grab the headlines, with crypto exchange EDX Markets (EDX) backed by Fidelity , Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities launching in the US and Deutsche Bank applying for a digital asset license in Germany.
So yes, institutions are back. But why did $10 trillion asset manager BlackRock and $1.5 trillion asset manager Invesco decide to launch a spot bitcoin ETF at this juncture? Many people have come up with conspiracy theories (some of which seem plausible).
For example, BlackRock is scrambling to support Coinbase for some reason, or it is acting on behalf of federal agencies to keep ordinary users from fully controlling their bitcoins, or Wall Street giants don’t allow crypto companies to get too ahead.
There are many similar "conspiracy theories", but there is a more convincing statement: capital never struggles with money, and launching a spot bitcoin ETF is a way to make money .
Take BlackRock, for example. BlackRock has clients (which they do) who have money to give to BlackRock (which they do) and are willing to pay BlackRock to take care of it, and BlackRock listens to their clients, so easy It is believed that there is a certain demand from clients for "exposure to cryptocurrencies" that makes it worthwhile to provide clients with crypto exposure. In exchange, of course, BlackRock charges a fee.
BlackRock sees a spot bitcoin ETF as the path of least resistance to providing exposure to clients, which is another story. BlackRock will only profit from the ETF if it is approved. So far, about a dozen spot bitcoin ETF applications have been rejected by the SEC (although there is reason to believe that BlackRock's latest application will satisfy the market surveillance and disclosure requirements the SEC requires).
To be sure, the SEC isn’t very hostile to bitcoin, its problem is with “securities” masquerading as cryptocurrencies.
Also, BlackRock executives used to dislike cryptocurrencies, but time can change a lot of things.
In July 2018, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink declared in a Bloomberg TV interview that clients had zero interest in cryptocurrencies. When asked if it would be necessary to be ready for the day clients want to be approached, Fink replied "not at the moment". A few months ago, Larry Fink also called the Bitcoin protocol a "money laundering index," arguing that "Bitcoin just shows you how much money laundering demand there is in the world."
Fast forward to June 2023, and Larry Fink appears to have gone from Bitcoin skeptic to crypto industry "savior," and if spot ETFs are given the green light, expect other BlackRock-sponsored crypto offerings in the future.
According to statistics from Bloomberg Intelligence, the SEC has up to 240 days to decide on BlackRock 's application. The ETF Store president Nate Geraci pointed out that, in fact, regarding the SEC's thinking, the investment giant "may know something we ordinary people don't know. know things".
Capital is all about profit. If BlackRock (arguably the most powerful company on Wall Street) did not have enough confidence, it would not apply for this spot bitcoin ETF.
For more information, welcome to join:
Bitpush Twitter: https://twitter.com/BitpushNewsCN
BitPush TG communication group: https://t.me/BitPushCommunity
Bitpush TG subscription: https://t.me/bitpush
This article is from Bitpush: https://www.bitpush.news/articles/4549494 , reprints must indicate the source
