Coinspeaker
Bitwise’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Listed on DTCC Under BITB Ticker
Bitwise Asset Management has listed its spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC). This comes after Fidelity Investments listed its FBTC spot Bitcoin ETF on the DTCC’s active and prelaunch list last week.
Bitwise’s move is evidence of the firm’s confidence that a spot Bitcoin ETF will be approved in the United States soon. Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan stated that while the firm is aware that regulators are yet to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, it is “preparing as though there’s going to be a launch.”
“We’re preparing marketing and sales strategies and press and all those things, and we’re working with regulators to try to push things ahead,” he said in an interview with ETF.com. “But until you cross the finish line, you just don’t know.”
DTCC data shows that the Wise Origin Bitcoin FD SHS is listed under the ticker BITB. Bitwise joins BlackRock, Invesco Galaxy, and Fidelity on the DTCC’s list.
BITB Listing Spurs Excitement amid Predictions of $100B in Inflows
Experts urge discretion, pointing out that the listings do not represent regulatory approval. There has been speculation that the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF product could result in $100 billion in inflows. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart calls the projection “an overstimation.” This was in response to a post by mathematician Fred Krueger discussing the ‘potential impact of $100 billion coming into Bitcoin as a result of the ETF approval.’
In his argument, Seyffart pointed out that since their introduction in 2004, gold ETFs in the United States have about $95 billion in assets despite their appeal to conservative investors. He opined that $100 billion in inflows was an “extreme outlier” even when measured over a period of several years.
This is likely an overestimation of demand in my opinion. Gold ETFs have been around since 2004 in the U.S. & currently have ~$95 billion in assets here. Spot #Bitcoin ETFs getting that much in inflows would be an EXTREME outlier success case even if measured over multiple years https://t.co/K2opcc2E9S
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) December 12, 2023
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to make a decision on Ark Invest and 21Shares’ spot Bitcoin ETF application early next month. Some have suggested that the regulator could approve all such pending applications at the same time to prevent a single issuer from gaining first mover advantage.
Meanwhile, as part of its ten crypto predictions for the year 2024, Bitwise projects that Bitcoin will reach a new all-time high of $80,000 driven by the launch of a spot Bitcoin ETF early in the year followed by the Bitcoin halving in April.
The list includes predictions regarding a Coinbase revenue increase, Taylor Swift NFTs and AI assistants that shop online using crypto.
