VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF Application Further Delayed by the SEC

The global investment manager VanEck would have to wait more to receive the SEC’s answer about its Bitcoin ETF application from earlier this year. The Commission’s second delay seeks other interested parties to weigh in on whether such a product will be sustainable.

• After withdrawing its previous attempts, VanEck filed another application with the US Securities and Exchange Commission in March this year to release a Bitcoin ETF.
• The agency initially delayed the decision back in April to June. However, a more recent filing from June 16th showed that the Commission had not made its decision yet.
• The document reads that the SEC “seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments” on the BTC ETF application. More specifically, those parties should opine about “the suitability of Bitcoin as an underlying asset for an exchange-traded product.”
• Furthermore, the Commission wants to know if such a product would be “susceptible to manipulation.”

• “What are commenters’ views generally on whether the Exchange’s proposal is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices? What are commenters’ views generally with respect to the liquidity and transparency of the bitcoin markets, the bitcoin markets’ susceptibility to manipulation?”

• The agency said it’s only trying to “protect investors and the public” by seeking this information.
• Those who would like to comment on the BTC ETF proposal have 21 days after the order is in the Federal Register and 35 days after the publication in the register’s rebuttals.
• It’s worth noting that while the US continues to refuse to approve a Bitcoin ETF, the northern neighbor has already permitted three this year. Earlier results are quite promising as they have garnered over $1 billion in AUM in just months.