Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds proposals have been on hold due to the fact that the United States’ Securities and Exchange Commission hasn’t given a thumbs up to any crypto-ETF proposal yet. In fact, the SEC has time and again delayed the decision, with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce slamming the body for keeping ETF applications on hold. She had also added that the SEC’s stubbornness was hampering innovation.
However, in a recent interview with CNBC, Chairman of the SEC Jay Clayton shed some light on the progress of the Bitcoin ETF proposals, suggesting that the people associated with Bitcoin businesses have come closer to meeting the SEC’s interests. He also highlighted the fact that certain issues such as the absence of efficient crypto-custody providers and the opportunity for price manipulation on unregulated exchanges required fixing.
Additionally, Clayton revealed that there was “progress being made”on the Bitcoin ETF proposals. He concluded by saying,
“Now, progress is being made but people needed to answer those hard questions for us to be comfortable that this was the appropriate type of product.”
VanECK Securities has been waiting for the SEC’s approval for several months now and while the SEC kept delaying the final verdict, the firm decided to launch an ETF-like product recently under the SEC’s Rule 144A, which does not require the approval of the commission.
The SEC has scheduled a decision on Bitwise and VanECK/SolidX’s proposals on October 13 and October 18, respectively.
Previously, the Winklevoss twins had also presented a Bitcoin ETF application. However, their application was rejected as they failed to adequately guarantee the prevention of market manipulation through their Bitcoin ETF.
