(Reuters) – BlackRock has updated its proposed filing for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to allow cash redemptions, in a move which could help it secure an approval from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A spate of filings for spot bitcoin and ether ETFs, including from traditional finance heavyweights, have revived the crypto market this year after a series of meltdowns in 2022.
“The Trust issues and redeems baskets on a continuous basis. These transactions will take place in exchange for cash. Subject to the in-kind regulatory approval, these transactions may also take place in exchange for bitcoin,” BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF said in a regulatory filing late on Monday.
The SEC has so far denied all spot bitcoin ETF applications, citing potential for fraud, but market participants have been hopeful of an approval early next year.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, had earlier sought to only redeem baskets to investors in bitcoin or ‘in-kind.’
A spot crypto ETF would track the market price of the underlying crypto asset, giving investors exposure to the token without buying the currency.
(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Varun H K)