The original deadline for a decision from the regulator was on August 27.
Cboe BZX Exchange would become a trading venue for VanEck’s product.
New York-based global asset manager VanEck is now going to await a decision from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) about its newest application for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Van Eck, which manages over $65 billion in assets, filed an updated application for a spot Bitcoin ETF on June 24; the original deadline for a decision from the regulator was on August 27.
Cboe BZX Exchange would become a trading venue for VanEck’s product if it receives regulatory approval. In a filing dated August 24, the SEC said that it will “either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.” This would push out the deadline for a decision on VanEck’s application until October 11.
Bitcoin ETF Ever Possible?
According to the SEC:
“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein.”
Since soliciting public input on July 13, the agency “has received no comments on the proposed rule change,” it said. The SEC denied VanEck’s application in November 2021 on the grounds that the Bitcoin spot market was susceptible to “fraud and manipulation.”
Shares of an ETF may be purchased by investors in the same way as shares of the underlying asset can be purchased by investors. Thus, a Bitcoin ETF would provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin without requiring them to directly purchase Bitcoin from an exchange or maintain Bitcoin in a digital wallet.