The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun proceedings to find out whether or not it ought to approve a proposed bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to a public filing published Tuesday, the SEC has begun evaluating the proposed rule change to permit NYSE Arca to record and commerce shares of Wilshire Phoenix’s Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust. The firms first filed the rule change proposal in May.
The ETF would give traders publicity to each bitcoin and U.S. Treasury bonds. The SEC listed quite a few questions for most of the people, together with what people consider the suggestion that the CME bitcoin reference charge is just not prone to manipulation.
The SEC started taking feedback on the proposal in June, and data present that solely six people have submitted responses, each in help of and in opposition to permitting a bitcoin ETF.
(One remark appears exasperated with the process, with an nameless submitter writing solely, “FOR GOD SAKE just approve this bitcoin etf — THIS IS BEEN GOING ON FOREVER…”)
According to a different public submitting, Wilshire Phoenix executives, NYSE Arca staff and members of the Seward & Kissel legislation agency met with SEC staffers earlier in September.
Upcoming deadlines
The SEC faces a ultimate deadline to approve or disapprove a bitcoin ETF proposed by Bitwise Asset Management in the course of October.
The firm has filed quite a few studies with the SEC in an effort to persuade the regulator that the bitcoin market is mature sufficient to help such a product. It stays unclear whether or not the regulators are satisfied of this truth, nevertheless. SEC Chairman Jay Clayton lately stated that, whereas the bitcoin market has made steps to mature, there may be nonetheless “work to be done” earlier than a bitcoin ETF will be accredited.
VanEck and SolidX, which additionally confronted a mid-October deadline, pulled their joint bitcoin ETF proposal earlier this month. VanEck Director of Digital Asset Strategies Gabor Gurbacs later stated that bringing such a product “remains a top priority,” although he didn’t point out if the businesses would file the ETF proposal for a 3rd time (the proposal was beforehand withdrawn through the extended authorities shutdown originally of 2019).
Regarding the Wilshire Phoenix proposal, the SEC has a legally mandated 35 days from now to decide.
SEC picture through Shutterstock
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