SEC Delays NYDIG’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Proposal by Two Months

The United States regulatory watchdog – Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) – has delayed the ruling on NYDIG’s proposal for a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund by 60 days.

• The original deadline was January 15th. If allowed, NYDIG’s Bitcoin ETF will be the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the country.
• According to the official filing, the SEC said that it will decide whether to approve the NYDIG’s proposal by March 16.
• The agency explained that it needs to designate a longer period before issuing an order so that it has “sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and any comments received.”
• NYDIG happens to be a subsidiary of asset manager Stone Ridge Holdings Group. It had applied for its spot exchange-traded fund – NYDIG Bitcoin ETF – to enable investors to buy or sell shares that track the price of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency.
• Even after the approval of several Bitcoin futures ETFs, the SEC has repeatedly discarded proposals for the spot products, citing price manipulation concerns in the crypto market.
• Just before Christmas 2021, SEC had rejected similar applications by Valkyrie and Kryptoin. It had earlier stated that the two proposals failed to meet the the authority’s standard to avert fraud and manipulative practices.
• Around the same time, SEC had rejected another application for spot Bitcoin ETF by WisdomTree after deferring on a decision mutiple times last year.
• However, the New York-based asset manager resorted to tweaking its proposal by listing the US Bank National Association as the custodian for shares of its Bitcoin (BTC) trust.