WisdomTree Adds Coinbase as Custodian for Bitcoin ETF

Coinbase, America’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, has once again been chosen by one of the contenders in the Bitcoin ETF spot race.

New York asset manager WisdomTree yesterday submitted a revised version of its application to the Securities and Exchange Commission for a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund.

In it, the company, which manages nearly $97 billion in assets, note that Coinbase would be the custodian of the product.

San Francisco-based Coinbase is already a custodian and monitoring sharing partner for other candidates – Fidelity, VanEck, Ark Invest’s 21Shares, Valkyrie and Invesco – including BlackRock, the world’s largest money manager.

In July, the Wall Street titan selected Coinbase will serve as both a custodian and monitoring sharing partner in a revised filing following its initial June application.

As a custodian, Coinbase would be responsible for storing the digital coins supporting the fund’s shares. Surveillance sharing refers to the activity of sharing information about transactions, clearing activities and client identification in order to reduce the risks of market manipulation.

Traditional financial companies applying for a Bitcoin ETF have chosen Coinbase because they view it as a trusted and legitimate institution: the crypto exchange went public on Nasdaq two years ago and is the largest digital asset brand in the UNITED STATES.

An eight-day window opened last week in which the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission could approve the long list of spot Bitcoin ETF applications that were on its desk, but the deadline passed today ‘today; it delayed two requests, thereby suspending approval.

The SEC has until January 15 to approve or deny WisdomTree’s Bitcoin Trust.