Swiss asset manager Pando Asset has joined the competition for a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) in the United States. This came as investment giant BlackRock revised its ETF model after meeting with the country’s securities regulator.
On Nov. 29, Pando submitted a Form S-1 to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register the Pando Asset Spot Bitcoin Trust. The trust aims to track Bitcoin’s price with the crypto exchange Coinbase holding Bitcoin on its behalf, similar to other ETF bids.
Pando now stands as the 13th bidder for approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. This puts them in competition with others such as BlackRock, ARK Invest, and Grayscale.
Twitter Quote: “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?” – Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) November 29, 2023
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas raised questions about Pando’s late entry and the implications if their ETF is approved along with others on Jan. 10.
Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart believes that all spot Bitcoin ETFs will be approved on Jan. 10 and expressed doubts about Pando being ready for approval on the same day.
BlackRock meets with SEC to discuss ETF bid
The SEC met with BlackRock and Invesco executives on Nov. 28 to discuss their ETF bids. BlackRock proposed a revision to its redemption model to address concerns raised by the SEC, particularly related to balance sheet impacts and risks to U.S. broker-dealers dealing with offshore crypto entities.
Balchunas explained that the revision involves the offshore entity getting Bitcoin from Coinbase and pre-paying the U.S. registered broker-dealer in cash, as the latter is not allowed to handle Bitcoin directly.
Balchunas had previously highlighted that broker-dealers cannot transact in Bitcoin and the SEC was requesting ETFs to have redemption models that put the onus on issuers to transact in Bitcoin, keeping broker-dealers from having to use unregistered subsidiaries or third-party firms to deal with Bitcoin.
Image Source: Svet foto / Shutterstock
