In brief
- The SEC has pushed back its decision on Kryptoin's Bitcoin ETF filing to the end of July.
- To date, the SEC has turned down all applications for a Bitcoin ETF.
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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed back its decision on Kryptoin’s Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) filing to July 27, as first reported by The Block.
Delaware-based investment firm Kryptoin first filed its application for a Bitcoin ETF back in October 2019.
“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the comments received,” reads the June 9 announcement from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
The proposed exchange-traded fund would hold real Bitcoin rather than a derivative that merely tracked the asset’s price.
Kryptoin's application joined similar filings from Wilshire Phoenix and Bitwise at that time. Since then, however, Wilshire’s application has been denied by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), while Bitwise withdrew its filing in January 2020.
In April 2021, Kryptoin made amendments to its filing to include all the service providers that would assist in launching the Bitcoin ETF. Notably, Gemini, an American exchange led by the Winklevoss twins, is slated to custody the Bitcoin for this product.
ETF applicants remain hopeful
To date, the SEC has turned down all applications for a Bitcoin ETF, though that hasn't damped the enthusiasm of applicants. In May, Vermont-based agricultural commodities ETF provider Teucrium filed its own application for a Bitcoin ETF, while the SEC kicked off its official review of applications by Skybridge and Fidelity.
In March 2020, Skybridge co-founder Anthony Scaramucci told Decrypt that he was hopeful a Bitcoin ETF would be approved by the end of the year, with the appointment of Gary Gensler as SEC chair. "I'm hoping that with the introduction of Gary Gensler now into the regulatory rubric, and my understanding of where he's coming from, although I don't know it personally, is that possibly we can get an ETF in place by the end of the year," Scaramucci said.