Cathie Wood: SEC Will Likely Approve ‘Spotcoins’ Simultaneously

ARK Investment Management Chief Investment Officer Cathie Wood predicted that the SEC will approve multiple spot bitcoin filings simultaneously if the agency eventually green-lights the investment vehicle, departing from her earlier claim that her firm is first in line.  

Wood was confident about the eventual approval of an ETF that tracks physical bitcoin as opposed to futures on an appearance on Bloomberg TV on Aug. 7: “I think the SEC, if it’s going to approve a bitcoin ETF, will approve more than one at once. Most of these essentially will be the same, so it will come down to marketing [and] communicating the message.” 

She also acknowledged that the Securities and Exchange Commission was likely to delay its decision about the so-called spotcoin ETF past Aug. 13, which has been the looming deadline to approve ARK and 21Shares’ applications. 

The famed investment manager also noted she believes Grayscale will win its lawsuit against the SEC for blocking its conversion of the GBTC bitcoin trust into an ETF. Bloomberg analysts recently gave Grayscale a likely chance of winning based on early statements from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bloomberg Intelligence raised its odds of a spot bitcoin approval to 65% from 50% on Aug. 2. 

Spotcoins’ Potential Approval 

ARK was an early filer for the spot bitcoin ETF in April, and Wood has previously claimed that her filing was first in line in front of other firms including BlackRock Inc. and VanEck. Her acknowledgment that multiple filings would be approved simultaneously is a departure from that claim and comes as firms continue to jockey for “first mover” benefits.  

Matt Hougan, chief investment officer at Bitwise, noted on CNBC’s ETF EDGE show that he agrees the SEC’s decision about spot bitcoin will likely be delayed; however, he noted he is also confident Grayscale will win its lawsuit. 

“I think investors are ready for a spot bitcoin ETF. I think investors deserve a spot bitcoin ETF,” he said.  

Contact Lucy Brewster at [email protected].