Bitwise amends spot Bitcoin ETF application with new, detailed argumentation

cointelegraph.com:

Bitwise Asset Management has filed an amended application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), beefing it up with 40 pages of new text responding to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) objections to the product. It still might not be enough to satisfy regulatory requirements, though, a company executive warned.

Bitwise is among the six financial firms whose spot BTC ETF applications are on hold after the SEC delayed its consideration. That move came after a court overturned the agency’s rejection of a Grayscale Investments application to convert its over-the-counter Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a listed BTC ETF.

Bitwise chief investment officer Matt Hougan explained in a thread on X (formerly Twitter) that, should the SEC appeal the Grayscale ruling, “we return to the status quo.” In that case, he wrote:

The Chicago-based CME Group operates derivatives exchanges including a BTC futures and options market.

In its amended application, Bitwise engaged with what the SEC called “the ‘mixed’ or ‘inconclusive’ academic record” on the lead-lag relationship between BTC futures and spot markets. After looking at academic works cited in 11 previous SEC disapproval orders for spot BTC exchange-traded products, Bitwise said, “The data show convincingly that the CME is the leading source of price discovery.”

1/ NEW: Bitwise Spot Bitcoin ETF Update

NYSE today filed an amended application to list the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust, complete with 40+ pages of new research from Bitwise.

The research addresses key concerns the SEC has raised around spot bitcoin ETFs.

Here’s why it matters — pic.twitter.com/RPb7OXRGat

Furthermore, Hougan summarized that the amended application demonstrated that “every well-designed