Kenne Michael 
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received a revised application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) from asset manager VanEck on October 27, according to the SEC database.
The amended filing emphasizes a seed capital investor’s October purchase of Seed Creation Baskets, a block of 50,000 shares of the proposed ETF, with Bitcoin prices determined by MarketVector Bitcoin Benchmark Rate, an index used to determine the cryptocurrency’s reference price.
According to finance attorney Scott Johnsson, the filing indicates that the fund will be seeded with Bitcoin, unlike other spot Bitcoin ETF proposals that propose seeding in cash.
Andddddd @vaneck_us joins the amendment filings for spot #bitcoin ETF issuers. h/t @NateGeraci pic.twitter.com/zdYuUTAaE6
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) October 29, 2023
As opposed to extant ETFs that invest in Bitcoin futures, a spot Bitcoin ETF would invest directly in Bitcoin.
The spot variant of the product is anticipated to attract significant investments from institutional investors seeking Bitcoin exposure through traditional asset managers.
Meanwhile, VanEck joins a growing list of asset managers who are revising their applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF with this filing.
Bitwise Asset Management also submitted an amended application in September in response to the SEC’s objections to the product.
Additionally, ARK Invest and 21Shares updated their joint application early this month to include additional details about their proposed spot Bitcoin ETF, including asset custody and valuation procedures.
The deluge of amended filings may indicate that asset managers and regulators are making progress in their negotiations.
ETF analyst Eric Balchunas recently noted, in reference to filings awaiting regulatory approval, that modifications to ETF proposals may reflect SEC requests for issuers to resolve concerns.
Balchunas explained on X (previously Twitter) that “It means ARK got the SEC’s comments and has dealt with them all, and now put [the] ball back in [the] SEC’s court. [In my opinion] good sign, solid progress.”
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has postponed a decision on several proposals for Bitcoin spot ETFs in the country, including those from BlackRock, Invesco, Bitwise, VanEck, and Valkyrie.
Analysts and market participants anticipate that a decision will be reached within weeks.
