BlackRock bitcoin ETF added to eligibility file, says clearing house DTCC

SINGAPORE (Reuters) -BlackRock's proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) was added to a clearing-house eligibility file in August, but the move is not indicative of any regulatory approval, clearing house DTCC said.

Speculation that BlackRock or a number of other pending bitcoin ETF applicants would succeed has sent bitcoin on its biggest two-day rally for seven months.

Traders had noticed it on a list on the website of DTCC, a post-trade settlement house that according to its annual report processed some $2.5 quadrillion in trades across asset classes in 2022.

The clearing house said the list was its eligibility file, which includes active and potential ETFs and that Blackrock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF was added in August as "standard practice...in preparation for the launch of a new ETF".

"Appearing on the list is not indicative of an outcome for any outstanding regulatory or other approval processes," a spokesperson for the company said by email.

BlackRock did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Bitcoin touched an 18-month high of $35,198 on Tuesday and was last at $33,802 in Asia trade on Wednesday.

Any approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of an exchange-traded fund that owns bitcoin on behalf of fund investors is predicted to fuel demand.

It would allow previously wary investors access to crypto via the stock market, ushering a new wave of capital into the sector.

The SEC declined to comment.

(Reporting by Rae Wee and Tom Westbrook in Singapore; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Jamie Freed)