Pando Asset Files Application for a Spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC
- Pando Asset has become the 13th asset management firm to apply for a spot Bitcoin ETF with the SEC.
- The custody arm of Coinbase will be keeping the required BTC on behalf of the trust, as per the filing.
- A Bloomberg analyst stated that the new filing presented “more questions than answers.”
- The same day, BlackRock met with the SEC to discuss an updated ETF model based on feedback.
Pando Asset, a leading asset management firm based in Switzerland, has become the latest company to file an application for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). There are now a total of 13 ETF applications that the US regulator currently has to consider.
It is crucial to note that on the same day when Pando Asset submitted a Form S-1 with the SEC, the world’s largest asset management firm, BlackRock, met with the regulator to discuss an updated ETF model that was based on the agency’s feedback. Interestingly, the crypto community has become quite optimistic when it comes to the approval of a spot ETF.
The name of the 13th ETF application that the SEC has to consider is Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust, and like the other spot ETFs, this one also seeks to track the price of the world’s largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. Further, the custody arm of Coinbase, the leading exchange in the United States, will be responsible for keeping the required BTC on behalf of the trust.
Previously, there were 12 Bitcoin ETF applications that the SEC had to consider from various asset management firms, including BlackRock, ARK Invest, and Grayscale.
Interestingly, in a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst for Bloomberg, said he has “more questions than answers” about Pando Asset’s filing, questioning why it came so late.
“More questions than answers: where have they been for last 3mo? why bother at this point? if they make Jan 10 crew what does that say about fair play and even society as we know it? And what exactly is a Pando?”
Balchunas also questioned if the new applicant will be among the “crew” of Bitcoin ETF filings he predicts will be approved on Jan. 10. “What does that say about fair play and even society as we know it?” he added.
It is important to mention here that Balchunas predicted that ETF applications have a “clear runway” for approval after the SEC delayed decisions on the bids of Franklin Templeton and Hashdex ETFs. The industry consensus is that the approval is likely to happen in the first half of January.
On the other hand, as per legal documents, BlackRock met with the SEC’s Trading and Markets division again on November 29, pitching a revision to its redemption model to address the SEC’s concerns from an earlier meeting on balance sheet impacts and risks to US broker-dealers dealing with offshore crypto entities.
A crypto journalist with over 3 years of experience in DeFi, NFT, metaverse, etc. Parth has worked with major media outlets in the crypto and finance world and has gained experience and expertise in crypto culture after surviving bear and bull markets over the years.
