Fidelity Prodded SEC to Approve Bitcoin ETF in Private Meeting

Fidelity Investments privately prodded the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last week to approve its bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), according to recent filings.

The financial services giant urged the regulator to approve its fund, citing increased investor interest in crypto. Fidelity also pointed to the rising number of investors holding bitcoin and similar funds worldwide. Bloomberg first reported the news Tuesday.

Fidelity Digital Assets President Tom Jessop, among other executives from the firm, met with SEC officials on a Sept. 8 video call.

Fidelity didn’t respond to a CoinDesk request for comment by the time of publication.

The SEC has yet to approve a bitcoin ETF. Presently, there are more than 10 applications pending, including those from VanEck, WisdomTree, and more recently, financer Anthony Scarammuci’s SkyBridge.

Fidelity originally filed its Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust in March with a follow-up response in June. Last week marked the second round of talks between the SEC and Fidelity, whose application is pending.

Purpose Investments became the first in North America to be approved for a bitcoin ETF when Canadian regulators gave their go-ahead in February.

See also: Fidelity Bitcoin Fund Attracts $102M in First 9 Months

UPDATE (Sept. 15, 2021, 1:57 UTC): Adds line on the status of Fidelity’s application