On the evening of October 23, the Bitcoin market started rising again, arousing widespread attention and investor interest: it rose all the way from around US$31,000, with the highest point exceeding US$35,000, and then continued to fall back to around US$33,000. It is now trading at $33,667. Behind the rise are compelling signs of optimism, including a slew of new information from U.S. investment giant BlackRock.
new information
On the morning of October 23rd local time in the United States, Twitter user @SGJohnsson tweeted that he discovered two new small details in BlackRock’s newly released S-1 revised draft:BlackRock obtained a CUSIP identification number for the new Bitcoin spot ETF, which is used to prepare securities products for launch in North America.The purpose of this identification number is to give different types of securities in North America (including ETFs, stocks, options, futures, government bonds, corporate bonds, etc. all products) a unique identification number so that there will be no confusion. This action by BlackRock clearly makes potential investors believe that it is ready for the approval of a Bitcoin spot ETF.
CUSIP for the ProShares Bitcoin Futures ETF is listed on the official website. Source: ProShares official website
As for the second detail, he discovered that BlackRock may start selling “Seed”. The term was later explained on Twitter by Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas:“Seed funding for an ETF is the initial funding, usually provided by a bank or broker, to purchase a number of original units (in this case Bitcoin) in exchange for the ETF being able to trade on the open market on day one shares. Note: Seed funding is usually not a lot of money, just enough to launch an ETF. So I wouldnt look at this as oh, Blackrock is buying a lot of Bitcoin but more of a fact that they are doing it and disclosing it, Shows another step in the process of getting approval.
Seed-related disclosures. Source: BlackRock S-1 filing
It is worth noting that in the S-1 document disclosed this time, the specific purchaser of seed capital, purchase amount, price and time were not disclosed. Obviously, both of these details were taken by investors as a signal that the Bitcoin spot ETF was about to be approved.
Later, another big news broke:BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF is back on the website of Depository Trust Clearing Corp., a major U.S. provider of financial market instruments, under the ticker $IBTC.The news kicked off a surge in Bitcoin that reached $35,000 a few hours later. Eric Balchunas jokingly explained, “$IBTC is indeed a relatively uninteresting ticker if you consider all possible options, but it fits BlackRock’s brand (they are more robust) and is arguably better than something like $HODL Code like this is more appropriate, especially if the target customer is baby boomer customers (representing middle-aged and older customers) who will still use wealth management products.”
But do these signals really mean BlackRock’s Bitcoin spot ETF will definitely be approved?
Digging deeper into the code and CUSIP
Taking a closer look at the three signals that appeared today, it is obvious that seed is an inevitable process. ETFs require a portion of start-up capital, and there are also sizable financial parties willing to pay BlackRock this start-up capital in exchange for part of the shares on the first day of listing. Therefore, this information may be the most boring of the three signals: regardless of whether the ETF is finally approved, BlackRock can choose to contact a certain funding party and reach an agreement in advance, so it does not represent the final situation of the ETF.
What about the remaining two signals? According to Odaily query, the code of $IBTC is the same as the code of CUSIPNone of them representThe SEC is about to give the green light to BlackRock’s spot ETF. Both codes use third-party service agencies and cover a wide range of financial products. The $IBTC code uses the services of Depository Trust Clearing Corp., which clearly lists a variety of services on its website, including institutional, clearing, derivatives, data, and even asset management services. CUSIP uses CUSIP Global Services, which is also a third-party agency rather than a government registration service.
Odaily searched the SEC’s historical database for all important documents submitted by ProShares’ first Bitcoin futures ETF from application to approval in 2021. There was no mention of the ETF’s CUSIP in these documents.It can be found that third-party services such as CUSIP have nothing to do with the SEC itself, and have nothing to do with whether the SEC approves the ETF.
In other words, the relationship between such codes and whether the ETF itself is approved is not the relationship between the ID number and the newborn, but the relationship between the wedding and the marriage certificate. If you don’t have a marriage certificate, the wedding can still be handled through a third party such as a hotel; unlike an ID number, you need to apply for it after the newborn is born.
It should be noted that the current SEC decision date for BlackRock’s Bitcoin Spot ETF is March 15 next year. Until then, the SEC does not need to make any actual decisions. Eric Balchunas bluntly stated that he still believes that multiple spot ETFs will be approved at the same time, and BlackRock’s products will not stand out.
Quotes
The last time Bitcoin reached $35,000, at the end of the bull market in May 2022, Bitcoin fell from a high of more than $40,000 and failed to hold that point. Today, Bitcoin is back at that price just over a year later. After breaking above $35,000, Bitcoin experienced a slight correction to sub-$33,000 before embarking on another upward move.
Bitcoin price. Source: Coinmarketcap
While volatility in the Bitcoin market has been in the spotlight, the question of whether the BlackRock ETF can actually emerge and signs of a rally have once again thrust Bitcoin into the spotlight of investors and market watchers.
Regardless, we still need to remain cautious and pay close attention to market dynamics to better understand the evolution of Bitcoin and other cryptoassets. Odaily will continue to pay attention to the subsequent development of ETF and continue to update to see how it will shape the future financial landscape.
