SEC again delayed decisions on three bitcoin ETFs, setting new deadlines in September and October

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) again postponed decisions on three bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposals, according to several documents released by the regulatory agency on Monday. 

Two of the three ETF proposals were filed earlier this year by Bitwise Asset Management under NYSE Arca and VanEck/SolidX under Cboe BZX Exchange, although neither of which has been able to make any process in winning the regulator’s approval. Wilshire Phoenix Funds joined the waitlist in June by proposing a fund that hedges bitcoin with Treasury bills. 

The new deadline for the SEC to make a decision on Wilshire Phoenix is Sept. 29, while for Bitwise and VanEck/SolidX the dates are Oct. 13 and Oct. 18, respectively. 

Since the beginning of the year, the regulator has been delaying making decisions on these bitcoin ETFs, citing concerns over “fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” in cryptocurrency trading.

In response, Bitwise shared a report with the SEC in May to show that regulated bitcoin markets are in fact very efficient and mature, despite the fact that 95% of the bitcoin trading volume is fake. 

To date, the SEC has yet to approve any bitcoin ETF proposals.

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Celia joined The Block as a reporter after earning her BA in the History of Science from the University of Chicago. Having spent years pondering over why 2+2 cannot equal 5, she is interested in the history and philosophy of mathematics, computation, and cryptography. She also had a very brief stint at Crunchbase News.