Cboe reaches surveillance agreement with Coinbase for spot bitcoin ETFs

Cboe on Tuesday submitted amendments for five proposed spot bitcoin ETFs to say that it has “reached an agreement on terms” with Coinbase to enter into surveillance sharing agreements.

Previous filings said the exchange was expecting to enter into that agreement.

 “On June 21, 2023, the Exchange reached an agreement on terms with Coinbase, Inc. (‘Coinbase’), an operator of a United States-based spot trading platform for Bitcoin that represents a substantial portion of US-based and USD denominated Bitcoin trading, to enter into a surveillance-sharing agreement (‘Spot BTC SSA’) and executed an associated term sheet,” the exchange said in one of the amendments. 

The changes were made for 19b-4 filings for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, VanEck Bitcoin Trust, Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF and ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF. 

The race for the first spot bitcoin ETF continues 

The race is on for a spot bitcoin ETF as more and more firms, including big names such as BlackRock and Fidelity, have listed Coinbase as a surveillance sharing partner. 

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has not yet approved of a spot bitcoin ETF, and proposals could face headway from the agency as it has repeatedly cited concerns of fraud and market manipulation when assessing previous applications over the years.