As the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is expected to announce its decision on the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs exchange-traded funds today, several fund issuers have lowered their planned fees to attract investors.
BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, revised its fee for its proposed iShares Bitcoin Trust from 0.30% to 0.25%, according to a filing on Tuesday. The company also plans to charge only 0.12% for the first 12 months or until the fund reaches $5 billion in assets under management, whichever comes first.
Fidelity, another financial giant, also cut its fee for its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF from 0.39% to 0.25%, according to a filing on Monday. The company intends to waive the fee for market participants until July 31.
Ark Invest, the investment firm led by Cathie Wood, also reduced its fee for its proposed spot Bitcoin ETF, which it filed in partnership with 21Shares, from 0.25% to 0.21%.
The fund will also implement a fee waiver for the first six months or until it reaches $1 billion in assets under management, whichever comes first. Other fund issuers, such as Bitwise, WisdomTree, Invesco, Galaxy Digital, and Valkyrie, have also slashed their fees in recent days, as the competition for the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. market intensifies.
SEC Is Expected to Approve Several Spot Bitcoin ETFs Today
Spot Bitcoin ETFs are funds that track the price of Bitcoin and hold the underlying asset in custody, allowing investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency without having to buy or store it directly. They are different from Bitcoin futures ETFs, which track the price of Bitcoin futures contracts and do not hold any Bitcoin.
The SEC has been reviewing several applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs but has not approved any of them yet. The regulator has repeatedly expressed concerns about the potential for fraud, manipulation, and volatility in the Bitcoin market.
However, many industry observers and executives are optimistic that the SEC will finally greenlight spot Bitcoin ETFs this week, following the launch of several Bitcoin futures ETFs last year. The approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs could boost the demand and adoption of Bitcoin, as well as lower the barriers and costs for investors.
The SEC’s X account was hacked earlier today and posted a fake tweet that the spot Bitcoin ETF applications had been approved. The incident caused the price of Bitcoin to drop to around $45,880 at the time of writing, from reaching above $47,000 on Monday. The SEC said it will work with law enforcement to investigate the matter, and that it will announce its decision on the spot Bitcoin ETFs as scheduled.
