• It is reported that the World Funds Trust has filed six leveraged and inverse Bitcoin ETFs with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

• The effective date would be March 18, 2024, and would use the iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF yet to be launched. 

The spot Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) is so far the hottest topic in the crypto ecosystem as all stakeholders expect history to be made with a bated breath. According to an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Henry Jim, the World Funds Trust has made a surprising move as it files six leveraged and inverse Bitcoin ETFs. According to the report, March 18, 2024, is expected to be the effective date. On top of that, all the filings would use the iShares Spot Bitcoin ETF yet to be launched. However, it reserves the right to use other ETFs. 

Experts have explained that these ETFs are different from the others as the funds are meant to magnify the performance of the ETF that moves in a similar direction as Bitcoin, making it more riskier. It is further explained that the 1.5X Long Spot BTC Daily Target ETF, for instance, focuses on daily investment results before fees and expenses. 

Industry Experts Debates on Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval

Recently, Markus Thielen, head of research for crypto platform Matrixport stated that all the ETF applications fall short of the requirements of the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Interestingly, this position is agreed upon by Stefan Rust, CEO of data provider Truflation. According to Rust, the Agency has not yet identified concrete ways of controlling cryptos. For the delay, he believes that regulators are just buying time to come up with points to prevent access to cryptos from a decentralized system.

Regardless, most experts including Bloomberg’s James Seyffart believe that there is a higher chance of spot Bitcoin ETF approval by January 10. Chase White and Joe Flynn, analysts at Compass Point Research & Trading also expect approval considering the decision to ask Ark Invest and 21Shares to refile their applications rather than reject them outright. Scott Johnsson, general partner at Van Buren Capital is also certain of approval between January 8 and January 10. According to Johnson, the SEC’s recent decision is very different from how it treated applications in the past. The current decision by the Agency is said to require much resources and time.

Senior ETF Analyst for Bloomberg commented about this:

Things you prob don’t do if you going to deny or delay. Hearing similar btw, and why when we see the updated (final) 19b-4s roll in that is sign approval imminent as SEC has been doing back and forth w issuers offline to perfect their 19b-4s vs doing numerous refilings a la S-1s.

As of press time, Bitcoin was trading at $42,908.31 after falling by 4.8% in the last 24 hours. Also, the asset has declined by 0.29% in the last seven days and has a bearish market sentiment with a score of 37/100.