SEC asks public for feedback on proposed spot bitcoin ETFs from Franklin Templeton, Hashdex

The Securities and Exchange Commission said Tuesday that it wants fresh feedback from the public on whether it should approve or disapprove a spot bitcoin ETF solicited by asset manager Franklin Templeton, just weeks after first delaying a decision on the proposed fund. The move prompted some analysts to note that the regulator appeared to be moving quickly. 

The SEC said it wants more analysis and is "instituting proceedings" to do so. The regulator asked commenters on Tuesday about concerns regarding manipulation and fraud, as well as the fund's relationship to Coinbase, which would be the custodian if the ETF garners approval. 

"The Commission is providing notice of the grounds for disapproval under consideration," it wrote, saying it wanted to analyze whether the application is consistent with the requirement that "the rules of a national securities exchange be 'designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices' and 'to protect investors and the public interest,'" the agency said in the filing.

"Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, as described below, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change," it continued.

The asset manager first filed for the Franklin Bitcoin BTC +1.04% ETF in September, and, if approved, would have shares listed and traded on the Cboe BZX Exchange. Multiple applications for spot bitcoin ETFs have been filed from other asset managers including BlackRock and Fidelity.

Hashdex application

The regulator also said it would institute proceedings and solicit public feedback on an application for the Hashdex Bitcoin Futures ETF application, which proposed converting its exchange-traded fund listed on the New York Stock Exchange into a partial spot product.

Comments on both funds are due in 21 days, with a rebuttal period continuing for two weeks after that. The SEC has yet to approve a spot bitcoin fund and has so far delayed all applications it's received for the product. 

Speculation swirls 

Some analysts noted on X that the SEC seemed to be moving quickly with the latest action on the Franklin Bitcoin ETF.

"Wow. SEC went super early on Franklin. They weren't due for another decision until Jan 1," James Seyffart, an ETF Analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, wrote on X. "Going super early on Franklin today (and potentially @hashdex coming too?) would set things up for a full wave of approvals in early January. Might be the reasoning?"

Van Buren Capital's Scott Johnsson said the move could be an effort to get all the spot bitcoin ETFs on the same timeline. 

"They might have chosen to do this early so they could have the comment period end before Jan 10, in order to approve everyone at the same time," Johnsson posted on X.

Fresh Franklin Templeton filing

Franklin Templeton followed the SEC action on Tuesday by filing an amended S-1 form.

"Notably, the language in this S-1 mimics a lot of others on the creation/redemption process. Leaves open the possibility for both In-kind and/or Cash," Seyffart wrote. 

(Updates with filing on Hashdex fund, fresh filing from Franklin Templeton.)