A handful of asset management firms hoping to be among the first to win regulatory approval to launch exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tied to the spot price of bitcoin updated their filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday and Friday, as market participants said a decision from the regulator might be imminent. By late Friday afternoon, BlackRock Asset Management (BLK.N), VanEck, Valkyrie Investments, Bitwise Investment Advisers, Invesco Ltd (IVZ.N), Fidelity, WisdomTree Investments, and a joint venture between Ark Investments and 21Shares had submitted new documents with regulators spelling out arrangements each has made with market makers to ensure liquid and efficient trading.

A fundamental change in the BlackRock file was that the fund would use a cash-only redemption strategy, the SEC’s preferred method for such ETFs. That change could help smooth the path toward approval for the fund, as it would alleviate some of the regulator’s concerns about the liquidity and potential for manipulation of the bitcoin spot price. Other updates to the BlackRock and VanEck filings also reflect changes to address those concerns, according to people familiar with the matter.

• Read more: Privacy Price Tag: Google Pays $5 Billion to Millions Caught in Secret Data Collection Web

The BlackRock and VanEck updates came as a wave of enthusiasm greeted the latest ETF applications related to the digital currency. Speculation that the SEC may soon approve the first spot-bitcoin ETFs has sent the bitcoin price up to its highest level in more than a year.

However, the ETF push comes amid mounting scrutiny of the cryptocurrency industry and its regulatory environment. The SEC has previously rejected multiple attempts to launch bitcoin-related products, citing market manipulation and investor protection concerns.

In other news, the SEC has charged one of the world’s leading investment advisers with fraud over handling an investment in a small private company called Aviron. The SEC accused BlackRock of not accurately reporting the value of the Aviron investment and its impact on its financial results. The company has agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty without admitting or denying the charges.