Invesco Galaxy's Bitcoin ETF (BTCO), listed on DTCC yet to be approved by the SEC

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The Invesco Galaxy’s spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been listed on the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation’s (DTCC) website under the ticker name BTCO. With this listing, Invesco Galaxy’s ETF has joined BlackRock on the DTCC site.

Invesco Galaxy is a digital asset investment manager and a subsidiary of Invesco Ltd., one of the world’s largest independent investment management firms. The Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (DTCC) is a prominent post-trade settlement house, managing trillion dollars in securities transactions worldwide each day.

The date when the ticker was added to the DTCC list remains unclear. The web archiver Wayback Machine’s records show no listing under the ticker BTCO on Oct 25, indicating it must have been added after that date.

According to a DTCC spokesperson, it is standard practice for the DTCC to add securities to the National Securities Clearing Corporations’ (NSCC) security eligibility file “in preparation for the launch of a new ETF to the market.” 

The NSCC is a clearing corporation that provides centralised clearing and settlement services to the financial industry. The NSCC security eligibility file is a list of all securities that are eligible for clearing and settlement through the NSCC.

Adding a ticker to the list of ETF products on the DTCC site, however, does not guarantee that it will be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“Appearing on the list is not indicative of an outcome for any outstanding regulatory or other approval processes,” says a DTCC spokesperson.

The SEC has rejected several Bitcoin ETF applications, citing concerns of market manipulation and investor protection. Some rejected applications include ETFs of asset management firms like Grayscale, BlackRock, Bitwise, and Valkyrie.

Although the ETF is still pending approval from the SEC, the fact that the Invesco Galaxy spot Bitcoin ETF has been added to the DTCC site indicates that the ETF is meeting the DTCC’s technical and operational standards.

If the Bitcoin ETF is approved by the SEC, it would be a significant development for the Bitcoin industry. It would provide investors with a new and convenient way to invest in Bitcoin and lead to increased institutional investment in Bitcoin.

Shashank is the founder of yMedia. He ventured into crypto in 2013 and is an ETH maximalist. Twitter: @bhardwajshash