The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has again postponed the bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) in a filing on Wednesday. The filing came before the commission’s June 17 deadline to approve or disapprove of the Bitcoin ETF following an extension in April 2021.
According to the new filing from the SEC, the regulatory body has not yet decided on whether to approve or disapprove of VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF and are now seeking public opinion as to whether or not to approve the ETF. The SEC is asking the public if they think a Bitcoin ETF would be susceptible to manipulation and how it can be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.
The SEC also asked people to weigh in on “the suitability of Bitcoin as an underlying asset for an exchange-traded product” and the liquidity and transparency of the Bitcoin (BTC) market. Anyone interested in commenting on the proposed Bitcoin ETF will have 21 days after the order is published in the Federal Register to do so and 35 days after publication in the same register for rebuttals. Members of the public can submit comments through the SEC website, via email, or snail mail.
The SEC can extend the deadline in 45, 45, 90 and 60-day increments to give a total of 240 days before delivering a final decision. However, under Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the commission also has the right “to determine whether the proposed rule change should be disapproved” before any deadline, as is the case in the request for public comment.
The VanEck Bitcoin ETF
VanEck is hardly a newcomer to cryptocurrencies. The firm is known for being a specialist in mutual funds and ETFs. The company has tried (and failed) for many years to launch a bitcoin ETF in the U.S.
In the company’s recent attempt to starting a Bitcoin ETF, it submitted the paperwork to apply for it with the SEC in March after withdrawing a similar application it had filed in January in partnership with blockchain startup, SolidX.
No Bitcoin ETF has been approved in the United States. Due to the continued delays by the SEC in the case of VanEck’s, Valkyrie Digital Assets’ and Fidelity Investments proposed Bitcoin ETF’s approval is unlikely to come anytime soon.
However, Canadian officials have given the green light for many crypto ETFs this year, including offerings from investment fund manager 3iQ, Purpose Investments, Evolve Funds Group and CI Global Asset Management.