One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin ETF Trust Denied by the SEC

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission continues to deny applications for Bitcoin ETFs. The latest one is the proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin Trust.

• The SEC has denied yet another application to launch a Bitcoin ETF. On May 27th, the Commission issued a notice rejecting the proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin Trust under the NYSE Arca Rule 8.201-E.
• The notice details that the main reason for the rejection is that the proposed rule change fails to meet its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice.
• More specifically, the watchdog outlined Section 6(b)(5) and precisely the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” and “to protect investors and the public interest.”
• The SEC outlined that this is the same reason it has been rejecting other spot Bitcoin ETFs and also said that for it to approve one:

“… an exchange that lists bitcoin-based exchange-traded products can meet its obligations under Excange Act Section 6(b)(5) by demonstrating that the exchange has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement wit a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying or reference bitcoin assets.”

• While expected, the SEC’s decision hasn’t deterred other big names to file for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
• Most recently, CryptoPotato reported that Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest filed for another one.