Blackrock has responded to the SEC’s comments by making two minor updates to its S1 filing. This follows the SEC’s response to several applicants for a Bitcoin ETF, which included additional comments. The amendments were submitted on the morning of January 9.
The changes made to the document are minor, suggesting that this could be the last filing before the SEC makes its decision. The updates aim to cover potential Force Majeure-like circumstances for the Authorized Participants and the Bitcoin Trading Counterparty.
The first change expands on the potential risks associated with the termination of key agreements or the failure of essential parties to provide their services. Initially, the focus was on the Custodian Agreement and the Prime Execution Agent Agreement. The amended text now includes the Authorized Participant Agreement and the Bitcoin Trading Counterparty Agreement. It also adds that if any of these agreements are terminated, or if an Authorized Participant or a Bitcoin Trading Counterparty fails to perform as required, the Trustee might face challenges in safekeeping the Trust’s bitcoins and managing the creation and redemption of shares. This change emphasizes a more comprehensive range of operational risks that could adversely affect the Trust’s ongoing operations.
The second change addresses additional risks related to the roles of Authorized Participants and Bitcoin Trading Counterparties in the operation of the Trust. Initially, the focus was on the challenges and potential consequences if the Trustee could not find a suitable replacement for the custodian or prime execution agent under favorable terms. The amendment introduces new concerns regarding the Authorized Participants and Bitcoin Trading Counterparties. It highlights that if these parties suffer from issues like insolvency, business disruptions, failures to perform, security breaches, or choose not to participate in the Trust’s creation and redemption process, it could have significant negative impacts. Specifically, it could disrupt the Trust’s creation and redemption process, affect the arbitrage mechanism that aligns the Shares with the Net Asset Value (NAV), and generally impact the Trust’s operations. The amendment points out that finding replacements for these parties on commercially acceptable terms, or at all, could be challenging, underlining the operational risks in these areas.
There are no other material changes to the documents.
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | None |
| Companies | Blackrock, SEC, Authorized Participants, Bitcoin Trading Counterparties, Trustee |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | None |
