Spot Bitcoin ETF window set between January 5 and 10, expert says as SEC publishes proposed rule changes

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• Bloomberg analysts James Seyffart says the window for spot BTC ETF approvals ranges between January 5 and 10, 2024.
• It comes after multiple days, which Seyffart believes were deliberate as the commission plans to approve all ETF applications at once.
• Meanwhile, Ric Edelman says financial advisors are waiting for spot Bitcoin ETF approval to provide BTC to clients.

Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have been a key catalyst in driving the markets, setting the tone for Bitcoin price and the rest of the market as capital overflows from the BTC market went to altcoins. Regardless, experts remain optimistic that an approval is still coming despite multiple delays.

Spot Bitcoin ETF approval window now set between January 5 and 10

Spot BTC ETFs approval window had been set to a hard deadline of November 17, but the SEC broke past it without a word. Recent revelations from ETF specialist, James Seyffart, indicate that there may be a new hard deadline, set between January 5 and 10 next year. Notably, this is between five and six weeks out beginning press time.

Seyffart, an ETF specialist with Bloomberg Intelligence, reaches this conclusion after determining that the deadline for Hashdex and Franklin Templeton to be somewhere around January 5 and 8, putting the window from January 5 and 10 where all the twelve spot BTC ETF filings can be approved.

This aligns with the date that Seyffart and colleague, Eric Balchunas, have been predicting for months, January 10. It also puts out any possibilities of an approval in December as the SEC’s move this week pushes the odds to 2024, with Seyffart and Balchunas still clinging to the 90% bets.

Financial advisors waiting for spot Bitcoin ETF approval to provide BTC to clients, Ric Edelman

Meanwhile, Ric Edelman, the founder of Edelman Financial Services, a $250 billion asset management firm, says financial advisors are waiting for spot BTC ETF approvals to come in so that they can begin providing BTC to clients.

Edelman had predicted a surge with spot BTC ETFS during an interview with Laura Shin, noting that up to 12% of advisors currently recommend Bitcoin, while 47% own the asset and embrace it as an innovative technology. With potential to “deliver outsized investment returns.” He also advised a cautious 1% portfolio allocation to crypto.

In his opinion, Bitcoin ownership among advisors adds to their credibility as clients tend to inquire whether BTC ownership is value addition, and an advisor would be better placed if they have actual exposure to the asset. In his words, “Advisors realize that they are having to deal with that conflict of owning Bitcoin but not recommending it for clients,” calling this a problem.

Out of the aforementioned 47% of advisors who own BTC, most of them are waiting for the spot BTC ETFs to become available so that they can provide this to their clients. This is in anticipation that every compliance department will approve the product.