Pando joins U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF race with newest filing

Pando, a Swiss asset manager, has officially entered the U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF race, filing a 19b-4 through CBOE, joining 12 other potential issuers.

In a Dec. 5 post from Bloomberg Intelligence analyst James Seyffart, Swiss asset manager Pando was announced as an official entrant into the competition for a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF, filing a 19b-4 through the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE). According to Seyffart, the new filling brings the number of potential issuers to 13.

The announcement, via X, highlights that Pando has entered the U.S. spot Bitcoin competition as a recent participant despite having established a presence with three other spot crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) on the SIX Swiss Exchange.  

Pando’s 19b-4 filing comes one week after the announcement of its initial submission of form S-1, which registered securities with the agency for the Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust.

The proposed ETF involves the Bank of New York Mellon serving as the Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust administrator. However, it is noteworthy that Pando is not registered with the SEC as an investment company.

Spurring on a crypto rally

Although no spot Bitcoin ETFs have been approved, positive updates around potential approval have sparked investor excitement.

Bitcoin (BTC) may surge beyond $40,000 amid anticipation of the SEC’s upcoming decision on spot ETF approval. The numbers show a change in market sentiment, as the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap has not reached this level since April 2022, predating the collapse of Terra and other prominent crypto projects.