Potential Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer Hashdex amended its filings on Friday, naming BitGo as its Bitcoin custodian and changing the name of its Bitcoin futures ETF to Hashdex Bitcoin ETF, as it – and other companies – continues to hope for a Bitcoin custodian approval for the US’s first spot Bitcoin ETF at the start of the new year.
According to an amended S-1 filing, Hashdex has reached an agreement with crypto custodian BitGo, a rare outlier among the over a dozen applicants. The vast majority have signed agreements with crypto exchange Coinbase, while Fidelity is looking to pursue self-custody and VanEck has tapped Gemini, another exchange.
The update comes a day after the SEC met with representatives from a number of other filers.
According to the filings, representatives from BlackRock, Valkyrie, Fidelity, Grayscale and Ark all spoke with SEC officials on Thursday. As Portal reported, regulators set a December 29 deadline for final changes to the applications.
In recent weeks, hopes have risen that a spot Bitcoin ETF will receive a regulatory green light in the near future. A number of applicants have met with the SEC and submitted various amendments to their applications. It clarified that they will issue their ETFs with cash (if approved) rather than in-kind, and clarified other minor details, suggesting the SEC is open to approval.
January 10, 2024 is the final deadline for Ark 21Shares submissions. Any approval or rejection by the SEC must come by that date, although Portal reported that a decision could come as early as the first days of the new year.