Two former top executives of the world’s largest asset management company, worth trillions of dollars, have made statements about cryptocurrencies. The BlackRock ETF application, which was expected to help Bitcoin recover after the Binance/Coinbase lawsuits, did not deliver as expected in the medium term. However, the ex-executives believe that investors will be happy within three years.
BlackRock, Bitcoin, and Cryptocurrencies
Steven Schoenfield, former BlackRock general manager who is currently the CEO of MarketVector Indexes, says that the SEC will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF within the next 3-6 months. The deadline for the third decision will expire in January, and the SEC will announce the result by the end of March, which is the final decision day. The rejection or approval of the ETF will be known before the end of March.
Schoenfield shared his prediction at the CCData Digital Asset Summit held in London yesterday. Another former BlackRock executive, Martin Bednall, who is the CEO of Jacobi Asset Management, was also on the same panel.
Schoenfield also responded to comments made by Bednall. Schoenfield previously stated that the SEC, which does not want to give anyone the advantage of the first move, could approve all applications at the same time.
“The SEC will probably approve them all at the same time; I don’t think they want to give anyone the advantage of the first move.”
Approval of a Spot Bitcoin ETF
Although Shoenfield previously stated that all applications would be approved at the same time, Bednall referred to an important detail. The deadline for the SEC’s objection to the GBTC decision will expire on October 10, and it has not objected so far. Therefore, if it cannot find a new excuse and wants to make a decision before January, the first-mover advantage may belong to Grayscale.
Furthermore, former BlackRock director Shoenfield mentioned that they are approaching approval.
“Instead of completely rejecting the entire list, they asked for comments, which is a marginal but significant development in the dialogue.”
This is a situation that many experts have noticed. Unlike its previous negative approach, the SEC is now adopting a more open attitude towards dialogue. This supports the belief that time is running out for approval.
During the panel organized by CCData in London yesterday, Martin Bednall said that if the SEC decides to approve Bitcoin spot ETFs, it would give BlackRock the first-mover advantage in terms of both brand and resources, reinforcing the traditional financial power.
According to him, through the Spot ETF, $150-200 billion will enter Bitcoin (and BTC investment products) in three years. Unlike futures ETFs and crypto futures trading, spot ETFs can have a positive impact on the price as they support physical asset backing. Willy Woo recently stated that cryptocurrencies will fluctuate based on demand in futures trading until spot ETFs are approved, and we will not experience a price increase due to supply scarcity.
