ARK Invest has taken the lead in filing the final Form S-1 amendment for its proposed spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) ahead of a deadline set by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The SEC allegedly set a deadline of December 29, 2023, for ETF applicants to file their final S-1 amendments to be considered in what Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas has called “the crucial first tranche of the race.”
Officials from the SEC reportedly met with representatives from at least seven firms on December 21, emphasizing the importance of meeting the specified deadline. ARK Invest responded promptly by filing an amendment to the S-1 registration statement for its Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF on December 28.
ARK Invest’s Focus on Authorized Participants
According to Bloomberg’s Balchunas, ARK Invest’s amendment was focused on so-called authorized participants, or Aps for short. The move follows a revision by Ark on December 19, aligning its application with changes to cash creations and redemptions for shares in the fund—a modification that mirrored other issuers adapting to cash creations.
As more than a dozen firms compete for approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, the rush to submit amended S-1 filings is expected to continue, with Balchunas saying in a recent X post that there is a “mad scramble behind the scenes to get signed AP agreements.”
The ETF: A Bridge between Traditional Finance and Crypto
The ETF Store, Inc. president Nate Geraci also weighed in on the developments, stating that the ETF “the bridge” that will force traditional finance investors and crypto fans to learn about each other. “Crypto isn’t going away,” he added.
