Cathie Wood of ARK Investment Management and Swiss cryptocurrency custodian 21Shares have proposed the exchange-traded fund ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF registration notice to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The firm registered its shares as securities listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange on January 4 using Form 8-A. Both the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust and the VanEck Bitcoin Trust registered their shares as securities on the New York Stock Exchange Arca and the Cboe BZX Exchange, respectively, on the same day using Form 8-A. The Cboe BZX Exchange registered Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF the day before.
Listing shares of a Bitcoin ETF from ARK Invest and 21Shares are subject to SEC review and approval or denial until January 10. Numerous applications are pending, but the regulatory body has never authorized a spot Bitcoin ETF for listing on a U.S. exchange.
The SEC denied a proposal to list the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF on Cboe BZX on January 26, 2023, because the application lacked adequate safeguards “to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts.”
However, in August 2023, Circuit Judge Neomi Rao of the U.S. Court of Appeals granted Grayscale Investments‘ petition to review its spot Bitcoin ETF application and vacate the SEC’s order denying the GBTC listing application.
Regulation reassessed all pending spot Bitcoin ETF applications in response to the directive. ARK 21Shares will establish a 0.80% annual management fee for its spot Bitcoin ETF, which, if approved, will cover operating expenses, including listing and marketing.
