Crypto News Today: SEC Sets December 29 Deadline for Spot ETF S-1 Amendments

Key Insights:

• BTC gained 0.80% on Monday, December 25, ending the session at $43,749.
• SEC set a December 29, 2023, deadline for BTC-spot ETF amendment filings.
• Former SEC Director John Reed Stark put the record straight about BTC-spot ETFs.

Bitcoin Readies for BTC-Spot ETF Market

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.80% on Monday, December 25, ending the session at $43,749. Significantly, BTC revisited the $44,000 handle for the sixth consecutive session.

BTC-spot ETF-related updates drove buyer demand for BTC and the broader crypto market.

On Monday, Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terrett posted an update on X, saying,

“Confirming the date for final amendments to all S-1s by Friday the 29th. The SEC has told issuers that applications that are fully finished and filed by Friday will be considered in the first wave. Anyone who is not will not be considered. In addition, the filings cannot mention in-kind creation or they will be rejected.”

Blackrock and other issuers previously met with the SEC to push for In-Kind creations and redemptions. However, the SEC remained resistant, forcing a wave of amended S-1 filings. The December 29 deadline gives issuers several days to submit amended S-1s.

The table shows issuers still with In-kind creation types.

Former SEC Chief of Internet Enforcement Talks BTC-Spot ETFs

On Monday, former SEC Chief of Internet Enforcement turned to X, putting the record straight about a Crypto article and his reported views on BTC-spot ETFs. Stark had this to say,

“Wow. This is quite a misleading headline that mandates a Christmas morning retort my brother. First off, I’m not a Bitcoin Spot ETF advocate, I am merely stating that if what’s being reported is true about all of these meetings between the SEC and all of the ETF applicants, then, based upon my 20 years of SEC experience, the SEC’s approval of some iteration of some kind of Bitcoin Spot ETF seems likely.”

Stark added,

“However, I just can’t seem to get over the notion that the approval of a Bitcoin Spot ETF may actually become a primary talking point of SEC Chair Gary Gensler legacy. Like most of the cryptoverse, this just seems upside down. Say it ain’t so Gary.”

Stark concluded,

“In fact, the very idea of a Bitcoin Spot ETF remains a laughable concept, not only because it will create yet another Wall Street fee-sucking investor scam of epic proportions, but also because a Bitcoin Spot ETF is perhaps the most “centralized” crypto contraption conceivable. Am I the only one who sees the extraordinary irony in that axiom?”

John Reed Stark has been vocal about the crypto-spot ETF market for some time. In August, Stark stated the SEC would disapprove BTC-spot ETFs. However, Stark also said crypto-spot ETFs could become a reality after Election Day. John Reed Stark and others consider a Republican victory in the US Presidential Election a boon for the US digital asset space.

Notably, Stark gave his views before Grayscale won its appeal.

Technical Analysis

Bitcoin Analysis

BTC continued holding above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bullish price signals.

A BTC return to the $44,000 handle would support a move to the $44,690 resistance level and the December 8 high of $44,747.

On Tuesday, US regulatory chatter and BTC-spot ETF activity will be the focal points for investors.

However, a fall through the $42,968 support level would give the bears a run at the $39,661 support level.

The 14-Daily RSI reading, 59.03, suggests a BTC break above the $44,690 resistance level before entering overbought territory.

Ethereum Analysis

ETH remained above the 50-day and 200-day EMAs, sending bullish price signals.

An ETH break above the $2,300 resistance level would support a move toward the $2,456 resistance level.

However, a drop below the $2,200 handle would bring the $2,143 support level and 50-day EMA into play.

The 14-period Daily RSI at 55.11 indicates an ETH return to the $2,400 handle before entering overbought territory.