Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals Could Happen Ahead Of SEC's Deadline: Galaxy Digital CEO

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applicants have been ironing out details of their filings as the deadline for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to make its ultimate decision looms. Industry experts believe the U.S. might finally see a wave of approvals ahead of the Jan. 10 deadline.

Wall Street giants hopeful to be among the first few to offer spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. have been meeting with SEC officials over the past few weeks to ensure their filings address the regulator's concerns.

While the deadline for the SEC to make its final decision is Jan. 10, Digital Galaxy CEO Mike Novogratz anticipates that the approval could happen even before that.

The chief executive also shared that it might take six to eight weeks before the approved spot Bitcoin ETFs could start trading.

"We're going to get this ETF before Jan. 10. That's kind of the drop dead date that Gensler has before he gets in trouble with Grayscale and the lawsuit, and so I think you're going to see this announced. It wouldn't start trading then, it probably takes six to eight weeks after that," Novogratz said in a recent interview. He was referring to a court ruling that asked the SEC to reconsider Grayscale's bid for a spot bitcoin ETF.

Moreover, Novogratz thinks the approval of the highly anticipated Bitcoin investment vehicle will benefit markets since it will add "more fuel for a fire" that would eventually trigger crypto assets to trade "like a maniac."

Crypto Law founder and renowned XRP lawyer John Deaton supported Novogratz's approval timeline, saying, "Very good chance Mike Novogratz is on target here. I'm a bit surprised we're not moving higher in anticipation. Will this be one of those rare occasions where it's a buy the news event?"

Earlier this month, Bloomberg Intelligence ETF analyst James Seyffart said the window for possible approvals would be between Jan. 5 and Jan. 10.

"Window is officially Jan 5th to Jan 10th. Really this means that any potential approval orders are going to come on either Monday Jan 8, Tuesday, Jan 9 or Wednesday, Jan 10. Mark your calendars people," Seyffart said on X.

Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto asset by market capitalization, was trading in the green zone at $42,883.23 as of 3:21 a.m. ET on Wednesday, with the 24-hour trading volume down by 16.82% at $21,456,266,284. The latest price action represents a 0.31% drop in its value in the past 24 hours and a 4.21% gain over the last seven days.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that Bitcoin's current circulating supply stands at 19,575,331 BTC and its market cap is at $839,409,335,452.