In brief
- The SEC has extended its review of VanEck’s proposal for a Bitcoin ETF.
- The new deadline is June 17, but it may well be extended again.
- If approved, VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF would be the first in the US.
The SEC is extending its review of a Bitcoin ETF proposal from the asset management company VanEck, per a new memo.
The initial deadline for the SEC’s decision on whether or not to approve the ETF was May 3—45 days after the filing was logged in the Federal Register. The new deadline is June 17, but the SEC can continue extending it up to 240 days after the initial filing.
An ETF is an investment product that offers exposure to an asset without direct ownership. If you want to get in on Bitcoin’s wild price swings but you’re nervous about actually opening up a wallet and holding Bitcoin directly, an ETF is the way to go.
The SEC has reviewed many Bitcoin ETF proposals over the better part of the last decade, but it has yet to approve one. VanEck has tried to get filings approved in the past, to no avail.
Bitcoin ETFs were recently approved in Canada and Brazil, and investors are optimistic that with Gary Gensler (a former MIT professor and fintech expert) leading the SEC, the US could finally get one in 2021.
VanEck’s current proposal is one of nine active filings for a Bitcoin ETF; other contenders include Kryptoin Investment Advisors and WisdomTree Investments, both of whose applications are currently under review.