Bitcoin Price Crosses Above $45,000 as Final Spot ETF Submission Deadline Ends

The price of Bitcoin continues to rise as the deadline for companies to file S-1 forms for Bitcoin spot ETFs passed this morning.

The SEC’s submission deadline of 8am has passed, and all issuers – Hashdex aside – have submitted updated S-1’s, with the exception of Grayscale, who submitted an S-3.

BlackRock, Ark Invest/21Shares, VanEck, WisdomTree, Invesco, Fidelity, and Valkyrie have all submitted revised S-1 forms, marking the last stage before a possible approval of a spot bitcoin ETF.

The SEC has until Jan. 10 to determine whether to approve or deny Ark 21 Shares’ application and could potentially approve all suitable final applications by that date.

Bitcoin Prices Rises Amid ETF Approval Anticipation

Bitcoin has been stabilizing since returning to $45,000 on Monday, and is currently trading at $45,004.71 at the time of writing, according to CoinMarketCap. Last week, Bitcoin broke through the $45,000 barrier for the first time since April 2022.

Eric Balchunas, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg, has said that the chance of a spot bitcoin ETF being approved in the United States has increased to over 90%.

In reference to the possibility of the SEC rejecting proposals after recent updated filings, Balchunas stated in an X post on Saturday, “I would probably estimate it at 5% at this point. But it’s important to leave a small possibility for these things.”

Balchunas previously set the odds at 90% in November, noting that the SEC and issuers were working hard to prepare ETFs for the current cycle, which “most said wouldn’t happen.”

However, the Polymarket betting platform is more pessimistic, with its odds of a spot Bitcoin ETF approval currently standing at 84% at time of writing.

Last Friday, stock exchanges filed amended 19b-4 forms for bids from several asset managers, including BlackRock and Fidelity, for spot Bitcoin ETFs. New filings also came in for proposed Grayscale Investments, Valkyrie, ARK 21Shares and Invesco also submitted new filings .

Forms were also submitted to the Cboe BZX exchange by VanEck, WisdomTree, Pando Asset AG, and Franklin Templeton.

Approved ETFs could start trading as early as January 11, The ETF Store president Nate Geraci said in an X post on Saturday.

“Amended S-1s due by 8amET on Mon & potential approval Tues or Wed (which *could* mean possible launch Thurs or Fri),” Geraci wrote. “SEC only asking for ‘minor’ changes. One source indicated SEC Commissioner vote likely to take place on Wed fwiw.”