Van Eck, which manages over $65 billion in assets, submitted its most recent spot Bitcoin ETF application on June 24. The regulator had until August 27 to make a judgment.
VanEck’s product would trade on the Cboe BZX Exchange if approved.
The SEC announced in a filing on August 24 that it would postpone deciding on VanEck’s proposal for another 45 days until October 11. At that point, the regulator will “either approve or disapprove, or commence proceedings to decide whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.”
To have enough time to review the proposed rule change and the problems addressed therein, the Commission “finds that it is appropriate to establish a longer timeframe within which to take action on the proposed rule change,” according to the SEC.
The organization added that since asking for feedback on July 13, “no comments have been received on the proposed rule change.”
The SEC denied VanEck’s earlier proposal in November 2021, citing worries about “fraud and manipulation” of the Bitcoin spot market.
The Bitcoin ETF and the SEC
An ETF is a tool for investing that enables buyers to purchase shares representing the underlying asset. To obtain exposure to Bitcoin, investors might purchase a Bitcoin ETF rather than having to purchase and store the cryptocurrency themselves.
Despite repeated attempts to develop such a product, U.S. investors have yet to see a Bitcoin-based equivalent, even though gold, real estate, and foreign currency ETFs are highly popular among them.
The SEC has rejected numerous requests for a spot-based Bitcoin ETF in the past. However, after Gary Gensler, the agency’s chair, said that the Commission might be inclined to allow such products, numerous Bitcoin futures ETFs were approved last year.
VanEck was one of the select few firms, along with ProShares and Valkyrie, to introduce a Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). The company’s Bitcoin Strategy ETF (XBTF) debuted on the Cboe-owned BATS Global Markets exchange in November 2021.
