The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decisions on six applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
According to SEC filings dated Aug. 31, the commission has designated a longer period in which it may review spot Bitcoin
The delays followed speculation that the SEC could approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. for the first time after the commission lost a crucial court case brought by asset manager Grayscale. An appellate court ruled on Aug. 29 the SEC would need to review Grayscale’s petition to convert its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF, leading many experts to suggest the odds for approval of at least one spot crypto ETF had significantly increased.
Related: Grayscale wins the court battle, but what does this mean for a spot Bitcoin ETF?
WisdomTree’s Bitcoin ETF proposal didn’t get the SEC’s approval following a 2021 filing. However, after BlackRock joined the spot Bitcoin ETF race, WisdomTree refiled its application. In July, following reports that the SEC would be more open to accepting ETF applications with a surveillance-sharing agreement, some firms refiled, naming crypto exchange Coinbase as a partner.
WisdomTree, Valkyrie, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise and Invesco are six of many firms with crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline, including BlackRock and ARK Invest. Many had expected the SEC to reach a decision or delay approval for Bitwise’s BTC investment vehicle first, as its deadline was Sept. 1. Labor Day, falling on Sept. 4 in 2023, is a national holiday in the U.S., suggesting the commission may want to get the filings in before the weekend.
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Additional reporting by Prashant Jha.