VanEck, an asset management company with headquarters in New York, once again needs to wait for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to render a decision about its most recent application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
On June 24, Van Eck, which manages more than $65 billion in assets, submitted its most recent application for a spot Bitcoin ETF. The earlier deadline for the regulator’s decision had passed on August 27.
The VanEck product will be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange if the application is successful.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced on August 24 that it would be delaying its decision on VanEck’s application for another 45 days, until October 11, when it would “either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.” This information was included in a filing on August 24.
“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer timeframe within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has ample time to evaluate the proposed rule change and the concerns raised therein,” stated the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In addition, the regulatory body stated that it “had not received any comments on the proposed rule change” since the initial request for feedback was sent on July 13.
The last application submitted by VanEck was denied by the SEC in November 2021 on the grounds that there was a possibility of “fraud and manipulation” on the Bitcoin spot market.
SEC Keeps Delaying Bitcoin ETFs
An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, is a type of investment vehicle that gives investors the opportunity to purchase shares that represent an underlying asset. Therefore, investors would be able to obtain exposure to Bitcoin through the use of a Bitcoin ETF without having to go through the bother of purchasing the cryptocurrency from an exchange and holding it in a cryptocurrency wallet.
Despite the fact that multiple attempts have been made to develop a product of this kind, U.S. investors have not yet seen an equivalent that is based on Bitcoin, despite the fact that gold, real estate, and foreign currency ETFs are all highly popular.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has consistently rejected various petitions for a spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. However, during the course of the previous year, it gave its stamp of approval to a number of Bitcoin futures ETFs. This came about after the chairman of the agency, Gary Gensler, gave hints that the Commission could be inclined to accept such products.
VanEck was one of the few businesses that launched a Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF) made its debut on the Cboe-owned BATS Global Markets exchange in November 2021. Other companies that launched Bitcoin futures ETFs include ProShares and Valkyrie.