Cantor Fitzgerald, a leading global financial services firm, has expressed growing confidence in the approval of a US exchange-traded fund (ETF) that invests directly in Bitcoin (BTC).
The company's optimism stems from recent changes made by asset managers to their filings.
Cantor research analysts Josh Siegler and Will Carlson believe the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is more likely to approve newly submitted proposals as opposed to previously rejected proposals.
They cited Wall Street giant BlackRock's filing and Grayscale's court victory in its attempt to convert its trust into an ETF despite opposition from the SEC.
The approval of the Bitcoin Spot ETF is a crucial short-term catalyst for Bitcoin's price, Siegler and Carlson wrote in a note published Friday. Analysts cited the recent price surge as being triggered in part by a false news report announcing the approval of an ETF.
Analysts also noted the recent federal court ruling in favor of Grayscale in its fight against the SEC. The court overturned the SEC's rejection of Grayscale's proposal to convert its trust into an ETF. Judge Neomi Rao had described the SEC's decision as “arbitrary and capricious”.
The court found that the SEC failed to justify why it approved Bitcoin futures ETFs but rejected Grayscale's spot offering. Analysts noted that there was significant evidence to suggest that the two products were similar across a variety of regulatory factors.
According to Siegler and Carlson, approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US would be a turning point for the long-term adoption and legitimation of Bitcoin. They added that this investment vehicle will simplify the process of finding a Bitcoin custodian, self-storage or investing in futures products.
*This is not investment advice.