Grayscale Bitcoin Trust Pumps to New Yearly High as Bloomberg Lawyer Expects Approval Soon, Ahead of BlackRock

Following the filings of multiple Bitcoin ETF applications earlier this month, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) witnessed a strong uptick in its trading volumes.

As we know, Grayscale has already filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for converting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. The firm has also gone to court over the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application. Elliott Z. Stein, senior litigation analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, believes that Grayscale has a 70% chance of winning the lawsuit against the SEC.

He also expects the securities regulator to approve Grayscale’s ETF request before the court announces its decision in August 2023. The Bloomberg analyst wrote:

The odds increased from 40% after oral arguments, where all three judges on the panel appeared to side with Grayscale, based on their lines of questioning. The SEC and Chair Gary Gensler may be bracing for a loss.

He further added that if the SEC approves Grayscale’s application, it would further improve the odds of approval for BlackRock and Fidelity.

Race for Bitcoin ETF, Fidelity Files Application

BlackRock’s entry into the space has triggered a strong race among financial giants to be the first to secure the approval of a spot-Bitcoin ETF from the SEC. Such approval will give the applicant the first-mover advantage while ensuring a massive influx of institutional money into Bitcoin ETFs.

Despite the current application by BlackRock, Cathie Wood’s ARK Investment Management says that it’s first in line to secure approval for the spot Bitcoin ETF. BlackRock, a company that caused a stir in the crypto markets by filing for a new product, may stand out by including a special agreement to share surveillance data, aiming to prevent market manipulation.

However, other applicants can also add similar agreements to their filings without much expense. According to analyst Yassine Elmandjra from ARK Investment Management, ARK, and 21Shares have already filed an application for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC, which is currently ahead of BlackRock’s application.

On Tuesday, June 27, the mainstream media also reported that Fidelity is preparing for a Bitcoin ETF application. Fidelity is making another attempt to launch a Bitcoin ETF. Their previous application for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust was rejected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission in 2022. Speaking to Bloomberg, Jaime Baeza, founder of crypto hedge fund ANB Investments said:

Bitcoin Price Hits One-Year High, Institutional Inflows Surge

Following the Fidelity development, the BTC price surged all the way to $31,000 on Tuesday, before retracing back. Last week, digital-asset investment products received a significant boost with $199 million in new investments, marking the highest weekly inflows in almost a year.

This surge in interest comes as a result of the increasing number of applications for spot-Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the US. The report from CoinShares, a digital asset manager and crypto research firm, reveals that outflows had been occurring for nine consecutive weeks prior to this influx. Out of the total inflows, approximately $187 million, or 94%, was invested in Bitcoin.