- The DTCC listed, then delisted, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF on its website.
- The move roiled crypto markets.
- The delisting from the DTCC's so-called eligibility list was intentional, an insider said.
Bitcoin reached a 2023 high this week, driven in part by optimism after the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation — which catalogues potential and approved ETFs — listed BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF on its website.
The listing helped drive speculation that BlackRock and other Bitcoin exchange-traded fund aspirants may be on the verge of receiving approval.
The web listing was then suddenly removed — until it was re-added hours later.
An insider with direct knowledge of the decision told DL News that the DTCC’s brief delisting of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF from its so-called eligibility list was intentional, “to perform additional research because it was receiving so much attention,” the person said.
But the specifics of the study, its implications, and whether the decision originated from the Securities and Exchange Commission, another agency, or was an internal choice at the clearing house, are unclear.
A spokesperson for DTCC declined to comment to DL News about the circumstances surrounding the temporary delisting, but said in a statement that “appearing on the list is not indicative of an outcome for any outstanding regulatory or other approval processes in respect of a particular ETF fund.”
BlackRock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The clearing house said that BlackRock’s pending ETF was actually added to the list in August.
“Appearing on the list is simply an indication that an agent bank has requested a DTCC identifier for an ETF fund, and that DTCC may process that transaction at an undetermined date in the future following SEC approval,” the spokesperson said.
The volatile nature of market sentiment around potential Bitcoin spot ETF approvals came to the fore on October 16. Bitcoin jumped as much as 10%, driven by an erroneous report suggesting that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s ETF application.
A Bitcoin spot ETF, unlike existing Bitcoin futures ETFs, will directly hold Bitcoin, tracking its market price.
Many institutional investors favour the structured framework and oversight of ETFs over directly managing cryptocurrencies, given the operational and regulatory complexities.