Valkyrie CIO Expects Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval By End Of Month

Steven McClurg, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Valkyrie Investments, has put forth a strong indication that a landmark approval from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Bitcoin ETF could transpire by the month’s end. The approval of the spot ETF is currently one of the biggest factors influencing the Bitcoin price as well as the entire crypto market’s trajectory.

Valkyrie’s Expected Timeline For A Spot Bitcoin ETF

Alongside financial giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, VanEck and Invesco, Valkyrie is one of the companies at the forefront of the battle with the SEC over a spot Bitcoin ETF. The firm manages two Bitcoin related ETFs at the moment – Valkyrie Bitcoin and Ether Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Miners ETF – with a combined asset value of $51.1 million and has an active filing for a spot Bitcoin ETF.

McClurg, citing the latest amendments to Valkyrie’s spot Bitcoin ETF application, anticipates that the SEC will issue another series of comments within the next weeks, potentially setting the stage for the approval of 19b-4 rule changes by the end of the month.

“Before anything else happens, we get a second round of comments, and I believe we’ll probably get those comments in the next one to three weeks. […] A late November approval likely means a February launch,” McClurg added in an interview with etf.com, suggesting a timeline for the SEC’s response to these crucial amendments.

He also argues that the SEC could wait until January to ask the applicants to put final touches on their S-1 filings. Nate Geraci, host of the ETF Prime podcast explained via X, ” Valkyrie CIO suggests SEC could approve 19b-4s (exchange rule changes) for spot bitcoin ETFs by end of November… And then S-1s (registration statements) early next year. These don’t have to be approved at same time (though need both for ETFs to begin trading).”

In recent weeks, the SEC has been actively communicating with ETF applicants and disclosed that the agency is carefully scrutinizing all spot Bitcoin ETF applications. The focal points of the SEC’s inquiry have pertained to the comprehensive explanation of various risk disclosures, methodologies concerning index usage, Net Asset Value (NAV) computations, environmental risk inclusions, as well as detailed insights into custodial practices. Recent amendments to filings by entities such as BlackRock and VanEck have been augmented to elucidate how initial fund seeding would be conducted.

Because of that, industry experts remain cautiously optimistic. Matt Hougan, CIO of Bitwise Asset Management, highlights lingering concerns: “Market manipulation is still a potential stumbling block… Custody isn’t [necessarily] a wrap… so there’s still a lot of work to do,” he stated, while also expressing hope for the eventual launch of a spot ETF.

The anticipation isn’t purely speculative; demand forecasts suggest substantial interest. McClurg envisions about $10 billion flowing into these products within the first one to two months post-launch, while Bitwise’s Hougan projects over $50 billion in inflows within five years, emphasizing that the substantial influx would be skewed towards the later years.

Valkyrie’s Latest Move

Valkyrie revised its spot Bitcoin ETF filing on October 30, with an S-1 registration statement submitted to the SEC, outlining the Valkyrie ETF. The proposed fund shares are intended to be listed under the ticker “BRRR” on the Nasdaq Stock Market.

Valkyrie’s updated application is part of a wider trend, as several firms have similarly refiled spot BTC ETF applications, signaling a concerted effort toward regulatory compliance and optimism for approval. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has identified these amendments as positive signals for progress and possible imminent approvals.

At the time of going to press, Bitcoin was trading at $34,456. The BTC price was still moving within the rising trend channel in the lower time frames.