Bloomberg Report: BlackRock Mentions JPMorgan, Jane Street As Authorized Participants for Spot Market Bitcoin ETF

The spot Bitcoin ETF is still in the news as expected. Check out the latest reports revealed by Bloomberg below.

The largest asset management company in the world has announced that it has enlisted the services of JPMorgan and Jane Street as authorized participants for its Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) bid.

According to Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas, BlackRock has updated its S-1 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and named JPMorgan and Jane Street as authorized participants (APs).

An AP is an organization, usually a large bank, that has the authority to create and redeem shares of a specific ETF.

Balchunas suggests that although the inclusion of APs is not mandatory on S-1 filings, BlackRock’s decision to add them may have been a strategic maneuver.

“Just to be clear: the AP names weren’t due in S-1s, so BlackRock adding them in there is a bit of a flex in that regard. So if we see other S-1s not naming AP doesn’t mean they don’t have one lined up. But this does make BlackRock the first horse officially ready in my opinion.”

Several Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) hopefuls have named their Authorized Participants (APs), including BlackRock, Valkyrie, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco, and others. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has named its APs, but it is not the only one.

Valkyrie has named both Jane Street and asset management firm Cantor Fitzgerald as its APs, while Fidelity has also chosen Jane Street as an AP.

Similarly, ETF issuer WisdomTree has designated Jane Street as its AP, while investment management firm Invesco has cited JPMorgan and financial firm Virtu as its APs.

The approval or denial of the Spot market BTC ETFs is set to be made by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January 2024.