SEC Postpones VanEck Bitcoin ETF

The Securities and Commission Exchange [SEC] has again delayed another Bitcoin ETF proposal in the form of VanEck. The proposed application was due for quite some time now and the crypto community had high hopes from the most awaited exchange-traded funds in the cryptocurrency community.

The SEC also released a document giving out reasons behind the current delay, stating that the committee requires more time and comments on the proposed rule change. The committee has also sought more information on the queries related to the ETF. SEC also mentioned that it has received a total of 25 comments on the proposed rule change so far.

The document released by the SEC read,

“On January 30, 2019, Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. […] filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, […] a proposed rule change to list and trade shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares issued by the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust […] The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on February 20, 2019.”

According to the reports, the main reason for continuous delays is the concern of SEC overuse of ETF for market manipulation and the measures taken by the platform to protect investors. The committee is currently seeking comments on 14 queries related to the VanEck Bitcoin ETF. The SEC report further states,

“On March 29, 2019, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, the commission designated a longer period within which to approve the proposed rule change, disapprove the proposed rule change, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove the proposed rule change.”

It is being estimated that once approved the ETF market could have a capitalization of $5 trillion dollars, and Bitcoin ETF could increase the Bitcoin market cap by around $50 billion.

One of the Twitter users commented on the postponing of ETF application stating,

“As expected, the SEC has delayed the VanEck bitcoin ETF proposal. VanEck’s new deadline is August 19. The SEC can & likely will delay one more time for a final deadline of October 18. Looks like this ended up the right explanation”

The crypto community was quite optimistic about the approval of the ETF, given the change in market sentiments and the maturity in the market.