BlackRock Plans Workforce Reduction of 3%, which is a surprising development given the firm’s anticipation of receiving approval from the SEC regarding their spot Bitcoin ETF application.
News in the crypto world is that BlackRock is reportedly set to lay off 3% of its workforce in the coming days. While 3% doesn’t sound like a prominent figure, it still amounts to 600 people getting set to be laid off. This is an exciting update, given all the positive buzz going around BlackRock, and the firm is undoubtedly looking poised to receive approval from the SEC for its spot Bitcoin ETF application.
The world’s largest asset manager’s decision to lay off 600 of its employees may stem from the fact that the firm is going forward with this step as a part of its internal adjustments routine, which firms of these sizes are known for conducting every once in a while.
Companies undergoing strategic changes or facing economic challenges may restructure their workforce to reduce costs and reallocate resources. This can involve eliminating redundant positions or consolidating departments. If this is true in BlackRock’s decision, the soon-to-be former employees would be ruining BlackRock’s ETF application approval.
The decision on who is getting the axe will be made based on the past annual performance of the employees.
The world’s largest asset management firm expects to get a decision from the SEC on its ETF application by January 10, which is also the date estimated by different analysts as the probable date when the SEC will make its announcement.
However, only some people are sure about that. In fact, according to a survey conducted by ETF issuer Bitwise, only 39% of financial advisers based in the United States anticipate the approval of a Bitcoin ETF within 2024.
January 10 is also the date the SEC has set as a deadline to approve or reject Ark 21 Shares spot Bitcoin ETF, so brace yourself for some exciting news updates, as a lot will transpire in the coming days.
While BlackRock hopes to get a decision from the SEC on January 10, the SEC’s deadline for BlackRock’s ETF application isn’t until January 15.
The deadline for BlackRock may be extended because of the recent requirements posted by the SEC to submit a form 194-b amendment, which all the 11 applicants of the Bitcoin ETF rushed to complete in the past few days so that their applications don’t get rejected on the grounds of failing to comply to the recent guidelines of SEC.
BlackRock submitted their 19b-4 amendment on January 5, the same day as other managers, including Valkyrie, Bitwise, Grayscale, Ark 21Shares, Invesco, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, VanEck, WisdomTree, and Hashdex, also submitted their 194-b amendments.
Bloomberg Analyst James Seyffart reported this flurry of updated applications on his X (formerly Twitter) account.
ETF expert Eric Balchunas has also expressed optimism regarding the spot Bitcoin issuers getting approval from the SEC in the upcoming week.
Any decision otherwise would be a complete shock to the crypto community since the U.S. court has set the precedence that any necessary delay wouldn’t be allowed after it ruled in favor of Grayscale when the SEC denied their application.
These submissions mark a crucial stage in the SEC approval process, representing an essential requirement for U.S. exchanges to list investment securities directly linked to cryptocurrencies.
In a noteworthy development in December 2023, Cointelegraph disclosed that BlackRock had modified its Bitcoin ETF application to enhance accessibility for Wall Street banks.
This involved creating new fund shares with cash, not solely limited to cryptocurrencies, facilitating greater participation from financial institutions.
Adopting an in-kind redemption model enables central banks to become authorized participants, overcoming restrictions on directly holding Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.
