Fidelity lobbies for SEC to approve Bitcoin ETF in private session

Multinational financial services firm Fidelity Investments has urged the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve its Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (EFT).

On September 8, a separate meeting was held between Fidelity Digital Assets President Tom Jessop, six company executives, and several SEC officials. The financial regulators have given several reasons why the regulator should approve the investment product. These include the increased demand for digital assets and related products, the popularity of similar funds in other countries, and the increasing adoption of Bitcoin.

Fidelity’s presentation of the meeting, outlining the benefits of Bitcoin products, states that regulators in developed global countries have approved Bitcoin Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) in Canada, Germany, Switzerland and Sweden.

In response to SEC chairman Gary Gensler’s comment last month about the ability to consider only BTC futures products, Fidelity argued that strict compliance with the 1933 Act allowed exchanges to sell products or only future products listing, or only allowing future products, is not necessary because the market is ripe.

The Securities Act of 1933 was passed after the stock market crash of 1929 to protect investors against misleading and fraudulent activity by introducing laws. Fidelity believes these laws are too strict and the market is now more transparent and established.

“We believe that Bitcoin futures-based products are not a necessary intermediate step before a Bitcoin ETP; Companies will be able to meet investor demand for direct exposure to Bitcoin […] via ETP, because the Bitcoin market is mature and can support it. “

He also argues that the market has reached “significant size” and is deeply liquid by the SEC’s own standards.

Fidelity filed for an exchange-traded Bitcoin product called the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in March 2021, and since then more than 20 similar applications have been made by other companies, but the regulator’s delay continues.

The Bitwise Bitcoin Strategy ETF is the newest ETF to be added to the SEC’s long registration queue after filing on September 14th.

Related: Fidelity’s crypto ambitions exceed expectations

Fidelity Digital Assets continues to expand its operations despite regulatory requirements. The company plans to increase its crypto assets workforce by up to 70% by the end of the year, according to Bloomberg.

The SEC is doing things at its own slow pace, postponing VanEck’s proposed Bitcoin Trust ETF for the third time this year on the same day as their meeting with Fidelity, postponing the decision date to November.