Fidelity Investments is prepping to launch a spot Bitcoin [BTC] ETF in Canada while its filings for the same are yet to receive the green light from the Securities Exchange Commission [SEC] in the United States. With respect to the financial service firm’s ETF, dubbed as the Fidelity Advantage Bitcoin ETF [FBTC], which would directly acquire physical BTC meaning the investment vehicle would purchase actual Bitcoin rather than obtain it via a derivative instrument.
The latest maneuver provides a much-needed shot to the arm for one of America’s leading brokerage entities having a total of $4 Trillion assets under management [AUM] is catering to its burgeoning clientele based in neighboring Canada. While in its home country, regulators are still figuring out whether or not to allow a spot BTC ETF.
This is not the first time spot BTC exchange-traded fund has been approved. A few days ago, Singapore became the newest entrant as it now offers a ‘Physical’ BTC fund created by its homegrown Fintonia Group. Citing the latest development, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of Monetary Authority of Singapore [MAS], noted that the best approach would be not to impose a total ban on these instruments. Speaking on the choice of the king coin, Adrian Chng of Fintonia reportedly said.
Bitcoin is an excellent form of collateral for loans. It trades 24/7 and is highly liquid, with approximately $30 billion to $60billion per day. If required, it can be quickly liquidated in comparison with, for example, commodities and real assets.
On the other hand, U.S firms’ have struggled so far to gain approval for the spot fund from the country’s top regulator. To top that, the recent development in Canada has irked many in the crypto community. One of them is prominent investor, Lark Davis who expresses his frustration with regards to SEC’s stance.
No Bitcoin [BTC] ETF in US?
So far, the market has welcomed a number of futures ETFs such as the ProShares Strategy and Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy but the question arises as to when will the U.S. regulatory body would finally approve the first spot Bitcoin ETF? Steven McClurg, the co-founder of Valkyrie, in an interview with CNBC stated that a spot ETF ‘won’t be until at least middle of next year.’ Grayscale Investments, which recently filed to convert the popular BTC trust into a spot ETF, is also eyeing the same by summer 2022.
Even, David LaValle at Grayscale Investments who heads the ETFs division, stated in a MarketWatch interview that he too sees the possibility of regulators giving the green signal for a spot-bitcoin ETF by July next year.