iShares, the exchange-traded fund (ETF) arm of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, remains on track to offer the first U.S. publicly-traded fund that tracks the price of Bitcoin. A new filing revealed by Nasdaq on Monday shows that the exchange has now resubmitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) an updated application to list a publicly-traded Bitcoin Trust.
Coinbase Named as BlackRock’s Surveillance Partner
Recall that in mid-June, the U.S. stock exchange Nasdaq filed for a Bitcoin Trust offered by iShares. Last week, though, the SEC labeled recent Bitcoin ETF filings, including the one by BlackRock, as inadequate. The agency mandated asset managers to update details on spot bitcoin filings, such as the crypto exchange, that will facilitate trades and more information about the surveillance-sharing agreement (SSA).
Nasdaq has now updated its filing as shown in a new SEC Form 19b-4 that names popular crypto exchange Coinbase as a surveillance partner. The SEC requires the provision of a surveillance partner and agreement to serve as a safeguard against possible market manipulation that could impact the price of the underlying asset.
Regarding today’s filings, the court document stated,
“The Spot BTC SSA is expected to be a bilateral surveillance-sharing agreement between Nasdaq and Coinbase that is intended to supplement the Exchange’s market surveillance program.”
It further noted that iShares and Coinbase had a surveillance agreement with Coinbase effective June 16, 2023, and that the platform’s BTC trading volume represents 56% of the U.S. market share. The SEC had required that these concerns be addressed before it can review the application.
Not the First
Aside from Nasdaq, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has filed for a Bitcoin Trust on behalf of other asset management firms. Last Friday, Cboe filed for updated documents on the spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.
The Canadian stock exchange submitted the updated documents for asset managers Invesco, Galaxy Digital, WisdomTree, VanEck, and Wise Origin. Investors believe that trading the financial product will bolster the performance of the leading cryptocurrency and allow more U.S. residents to gain exposure to the asset in an efficient manner.
