SEC Starts Scrutiny of Skybridge and Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF Bids

The two Bitcoin ETF applications join four others already under official review—with more in the queue. The SEC has never approved a filing.

2 min read

May 27, 2021

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has kicked off its review of two more Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, recent filings with the regulator show.

The two ETFs, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital and Fidelity Investments’ Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, join four others already under review. A further 10 are estimated to be pending.

The investment vehicles provide exposure to Bitcoin without the need for investors to buy or store the asset itself directly. ETFs are a popular feature of many investment portfolios.

But the SEC has, to date, been wary of approving a crypto version that would attract retail investors, citing the risk of potential market manipulation, among other arguments. The Winklevoss twins were the first to attempt a Bitcoin ETF with a since-abandoned filing back in 2013.

Bitcoin ETFs under review

The four other filings currently under the regulator’s consideration are VanEck Kryptoin, WisdomTree, and Valkyrie. The regulator must issue an initial decision on each application within 45 days, but the window can be extended for up to 240 days.

If approved, the SkyBridge ETF would trade on the New York Stock Exchange, while the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust would trade on The Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe).

Canada and Brazil already have their own crypto ETFs, and crypto executives are optimistic about the prospect of an American one.

One applicant, One River, which has applied to launch a carbon-neutral Bitcoin ETF, even has ex-SEC chairman Jay Clayton as an advisor—the man who repeatedly said the U.S. market didn’t need a crypto ETF.

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