Grayscale, VanECK file Form 8-A for spot Bitcoin ETFs

Form 8-A filings submitted by Fidelity, Grayscale, and VanEck indicate progress toward the widely expected approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs, although the SEC has not given the nod yet. 

Grayscale Investments and VanEck filed Form 8-As on Jan. 4 with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), marking registration of securities with the watchdog. This is part of a process that allows issuers to eventually list Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs on an exchange should the SEC approve. 

The issuer of Grayscale BTC Trust (GBTC), which holds some 620,000 BTC valued at over $26 billion, hopes to convert its current product into an exchange-traded fund that tracks spot Bitcoin price. GBTC would trade on the NYSE Arca as a spot BTC ETF if approved.

Fidelity had submitted its Form 8-A a day before Grayscale and VanEck as issuers bolstered their readiness ahead of a deadline when the SEC must accept or reject at least one bid for spot Bitcoin ETFs.

The SEC has a deadline of Jan. 10 to decide on the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. Experts have said that the securities watchdog will likely approve multiple filings by this date, with the chances of acceptance at 90%, according to Bloomberg analysts Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart. 

Traders on decentralized prediction platforms like Polymarket have placed bets worth over $1 million that the SEC issues a go-ahead for any of the 14 issuers to list their spot Bitcoin ETFs by Jan. 15.  The amount locked in the “Bitcoin ETF approved by Jan. 15” contract increased by over $600,000 in two days despite a Matrixport report suggesting the SEC may reject all applications in January.