Jay Claton, the former chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), believes the agency’s approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) is inevitable.
During an interview with CNBC, Clayton said nothing is left for the SEC to decide as the regulator is comfortable with the disclosures from ETFs’ applicants.
“I think approval is inevitable. There’s nothing left to decide… Yeah, I do [believe that Bitcoin ETF approval is imminent]. I could be wrong, but that’s what I think,” Clayton said.
Bitcoin ETF Approval is Inevitable: Clayton
The former SEC chair explained that the Bitcoin trading market had gotten better than it was five years ago when participants were involved in wash sales, laddering, and all sorts of activities that could not be made available to the general public because of risk.
Now, applicants’ disclosures reveal to investors what they need to know about the underlying Bitcoin market, the technology required for the new product, and its custody, creation, and redemption.
Clayton further praised the SEC for where the agency is, stating that the widely anticipated Bitcoin ETF approval is a significant development for the financial sector.
“This is a big step, not just for Bitcoin but for finance generally. If you can digitize, tokenize underlying assets and trade that way, that’s a potential significant change across finance, not just in the crypto space,” the former SEC chair added.
Fee Competition Among Applicants
Clayton’s statements come as multiple spot Bitcoin ETF applicants, including Valkyrie, WisdomTree, BlackRock, VanEck, Invesco/Galaxy, Grayscale, and ARK Invest/21Shares, file finalized updates for their S-1 forms with the SEC.
The filings include various fees stemming from competition among the potential ETF issuers. Bitwise is offering the lowest fee – 0.24% after the initial six months and the first $1 billion in assets – followed by ARK Invest/21Shares with 0.25% under the same conditions.
The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, offered 0.20% for the first 12 months or until the first $5 billion in assets and then an increase to 0.30% as the ongoing fee. On the other hand, Franklin Templeton offers a fee of 0.29%, Fidelity’s sits at 0.39%, and VanEck listed 0.25%.
Meanwhile, the crypto community awaits the SEC’s announcement, as the deadline for the agency’s decision is January 10.
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