The Securities and Exchange Commission have delayed their decision on a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) until February 27th.
The regulator confirmed they were extending the review period for the ETF in an official statement, the release of which caused Bitcoin to experience a substantial 11% move to the downside.
ETF proposals were submitted by VanEck, who recently signed a partnership deal with Nasdaq, and SolidX, who partnered with the Chicago Board of Options Exchange (CBOE) earlier this year.
As expected, the SEC has delayed its decision on the VanEck/SolidX bitcoin ETF proposal until the absolute final deadline of February 27. The order doesn't say anything of substance, but you can see it here: (https://t.co/2yfAIbm2cu)
This is it. The SEC *cannot* delay again.
— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) December 6, 2018
Under SEC rules, the decision can not be delayed any further past February 27th, but that won’t prevent the likes of VanEck resubmitting a proposal if the current one gets rejected.
No less than nine ETF proposals were rejected by the SEC in August. Proshares, GraniteShares, and Direxion all had their applications dismissed. The SEC then confirmed they would “review” the disapproval orders.
The VanEck and SolidX proposals are different to the others that were rejected as its value is dependent on itself, as opposed to futures markets like the other nine.
The securities regulator opened a comment period for the ongoing ETF application, confirming that they had received more than 1,600 comments.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the author should not be considered as financial advice. We do not give advice on financial products.