The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking the maximum amount of time the regulator has to make a decision on a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund or ETF offering from ARK 21Shares .
In a Sept. 26 announcement, the SEC said it would set a longer timeframe for approving or rejecting a proposed rule change that would allow the ARK 21Shares spot BTC ETF on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The Commission’s previous delay on August 11 gave the regulator until November 11 to decide whether to approve, reject or postpone a decision again.
“The Commission considers it appropriate to set a longer period of time within which to issue an order approving or disapproving of the proposed rule change in order to allow it sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change […] and the questions raised therein,” the SEC said.
The delay came on the same day the SEC postponed a decision on fund manager GlobalX’s Bitcoin ETF offering. It’s unclear why the Commission set longer timeframes to determine the fate of spot Bitcoin ETF applications weeks before its next deadlines in October and November – the regulator has typically waited until a few days before a deadline to make one Delay to submit.
With the additional 60 days to review ARK 21Shares’ offering, the SEC’s final deadline for ARK 21Shares will be January 10 – 240 days after the initial filing. The next deadline for GlobalX’s ETF is November 21st.
UPDATE: Wow. The SEC just came out SUPER early and delayed the filing of the @ARKInvest / @21Shares #Bitcoin ETF. The decision on this matter should not be made until November 11th.
Additionally, the @GlobalXETFs application, which was due on October 7th, is delayed. pic.twitter.com/7DiBq1h4Ef
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 26, 2023
The filing followed a letter from a group of four U.S. representatives calling on SEC Chairman Gary Gensler to “immediately” approve a spot Bitcoin ETF. The lawmakers claimed the SEC applies “inconsistent and discriminatory standards” in approving ETFs linked to crypto futures but not spot investment vehicles.
Related: After SEC delays, ARK Invest and 21Shares file for a spot Ether ETF
To date, the SEC has not approved any spot BTC ETF for listing on a US exchange. Many industry experts had speculated that the commission would reconsider pending ETF applications after the SEC lost in court against Grayscale in August.
At the time of publication, the next deadlines for spot crypto ETF applications from seven major companies – BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Bitwise, VanEck and Fidelity – are scheduled for October. The SEC may delay or extend these deadlines until March.
Magazine: SEC postpones BTC ETF decision, Grayscale triumphs over SEC and BitBoy gets the nod: Hodler’s Digest, August 27 – September 2
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