KEY POINTS

  • Invesco and WisdomTree had applied for spot Bitcoin ETF in 2021, but were rejected by the SEC
  • Invesco said the lack of a spot Bitcoin ETF "exposes U.S. investor assets to significant risk"
  • WisdomTree said: "The bitcoin market has matured such that it is operating at a level of efficiency and scale similar in material respects to established global equity"

Wall Street giants seem to have renewed their interest in exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as New York-based asset manager WisdomTree and investment management company Invesco filed an application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), mere days after BlackRock did the same.

Multinational investment company BlackRock may have revived hope that the U.S. regulators might finally approve spot Bitcoin ETF applications of financial institutions, as seen by the latest filing by WisdomTree and Invesco, in collaboration with digital asset and blockchain company Galaxy Digital, on Tuesday.

Invesco, which manages approximately $1.4 billion assets, is once again seeking the financial regulators' approval for an "Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF," a first since its initial, but failed, attempt in 2021 where it collaborated with Galaxy Digital.

The SEC has repeatedly rejected proposals for spot Bitcoin ETF, built in its application, Invesco argues the absence of a spot BTC ETF is pushing investors to venture into more risky options.

The lack of a spot Bitcoin ETF "exposes U.S. investor assets to significant risk" since they "are forced to find alternative exposure through generally riskier means," Invesco said in the filing.

"For instance, many U.S. investors that held their digital assets in accounts at FTX, Celsius Network LLC, BlockFi Inc. and Voyager Digital Holdings, Inc. have become unsecured creditors in the insolvencies of those entities," it noted.

According to Invesco, the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF "would represent a major win for the protection of U.S. investors"

WisdomTree is also applying to launch its WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, with plans to list the ETF under the symbol BTCWon in the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Like Invesco, WisdomTree is not a newbie in attempting to get a license to offer an ETF, as it also applied to the SEC in 2021.

But the Wall Street major regulator rejected the application in 2022, citing a lack of surveillance-sharing agreements and concerns about market manipulations.

"The bitcoin market has matured such that it is operating at a level of efficiency and scale similar in material respects to established global equity, fixed income and commodity markets," WisdomTree said in a filing.

The SEC has not yet released any statement related to the new wave of spot Bitcoin ETF applications, and while it has rejected proposals in the past, industry watchers are optimistic the financial watchdog might change its mind this time, with BlackRock leading the charge.

A Wall Street sign outside the New York Stock Exchange
Reuters