Bitcoin spot ETF gets more bets as Franklin Templeton joins the race

• Asset manager giant – Franklin Templeton joined its competitors in filing for a Bitcoin spot ETF
• Gensler claimed that the commission was still reviewing the submitted applications at the Senate hearing on 12 September

The stakes of having a Bitcoin spot ETF in the United States increase as asset manager Franklin Templeton joins the race. The firm filed an application with the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) on Tuesday, 12 September. With this move, the investment manager joined the likes of BlackRock and Fidelity.

Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price Prediction 2023-2024

Notably, the filing stated that Bank of New York Mellon would act as the custodian of its cash holdings. Additionally, it will be listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Meanwhile, the leading American-based crypto exchange – Coinbase would act as the custodian of the Bitcoin for the firm. The filing also read,

“The assets of the Fund consist primarily of bitcoin held by a custodian on behalf of the Fund. The Fund seeks to reflect generally the performance of the price of bitcoin. The Fund seeks to reflect such performance before payment of the Fund’s expenses”

Interestingly, the filing from the investment manager giant comes days after the SEC postponed making a decision on spot Bitcoin ETF applications. The commission delayed the decision on a total of six applications. These applications were from Blackrock, Fidelity, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, VanEck, and WisdomTree. The next development on these applications will be released this coming month, around mid-October.

SEC Chair speaks about Bitcoin spot ETF

The SEC chief – Gary Gensler – spoke about his views on the crypto market and the state of spot Bitcoin ETFs, during the Senate Banking Committee Hearing on 12 September. Gensler proclaimed that the crypto market was “rife with fraud, abuse, and misconduct,” adding that currently there was “significant non-compliance.”

On the Bitcoin spot ETFs, Senator Bill Hagerty brought up the loss of the SEC in the legal battle against Grayscale, a digital asset management company. In this case, the court directed the commission to review its decision to reject the conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into a Bitcoin spot ETF.

Sen Haggerty asked Gensler, “What do you need to see in the spot ETF filing?”. To this Gensler stated that the commission was still reviewing its Grayscale decision. He also stated that the same applied to the multiple Bitcoin spot ETF filings, adding that he was looking forward to the staff’s recommendation.