WisdomTree is trying again for permission to start a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the US, submitting an application to the Securities and Exchange Commission less than a week after BlackRock Inc.
The filing Tuesday from the asset manager said the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust would be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange under the ticker BTCW. BlackRock’s June 15 application for a spot fund has helped the token to climb about 15%.
The SEC has resisted allowing such Bitcoin ETFs, including past efforts by WisdomTree. The regulator has cited risks such as fraud and manipulation in the spot market for the token but it has allowed futures-based Bitcoin ETFs.
BlackRock’s filing “has restored hope in approval thanks to the company’s size, stature and reputation,” Eric Balchunas and James Seyffart, ETF analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote in a note.
Read more: BlackRock Tries for Spot-Bitcoin ETF With Fresh Filing
Bitcoin rose 2% to $28,730, the highest level since early May, as of 11:37 a.m. in Singapore on Wednesday.
“Everyone who had a filing is going to resubmit and those who had been considering will also want to be filing soon as well,” said Dave Abner, principal at Dabner Capital Partners, an ETF and crypto advisory firm.
(Updates with comment from consultant in the last paragraph.)
