Hashdex Names BitGo as Bitcoin ETF Custodian as Applicants Continue SEC Meetings

Would-be bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuer Hashdex changed its paperwork Friday, naming BitGo as its bitcoin custodian and changing the name of its Bitcoin Futures ETF to the Hashdex Bitcoin ETF as it – and other companies – continue to hope for an approval for the U.S.'s first spot bitcoin ETF early in the new year.

Hashdex has come to an agreement with crypto custodian BitGo to according to an amended S-1 filing, a rare outlier among the over a dozen applicants. The vast majority have signed agreements with crypto exchange Coinbase, while Fidelity intends to self-custody and VanEck tapped Gemini, another exchange.

The update comes a day after the SEC met with representatives from a number of other applicants.

Representatives from BlackRock, Valkyrie, Fidelity, Grayscale and Ark all spoke to officials with the SEC on Thursday, according to filings. The regulators set a Dec. 29 deadline for final amendments to the applications, Reuters reported.

Hopes that a spot bitcoin ETF will be given the regulatory green light in the near future have risen in recent weeks. A number of applicants have met with the SEC and filed various amendments to their applications, specifying that they will issue their ETFs with cash creation (if approved) rather than in-kind and addressing other minor details, suggesting the SEC is open to an approval.

Jan. 10, 2024 is the final deadline for the Ark 21Shares filing. Any approval or rejection from the SEC will have to come by that date, though Reuters reported that a decision may come as early as the first few days of the new year.