BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
BLOCKCHAIN
Cboe withdraws bitcoin ETF application ahead of a likely SEC rejection
Cboe Global Markets has withdrawn its longstanding application for a rule change that would have allowed it to list a bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
An ETF is a tradable security that tracks an index, a commodity, bonds or a basket of assets such as an index fund. In the case of a bitcoin ETF, the security tracks the price of bitcoin to the U.S. dollar.
The Cboe ETF proposal was the latest in a line of attempts to bring a bitcoin ETF to market. Previous applications, subsequently withdrawn, included Direxion Shares ETF Trust, Exchange Listed Funds Trust and ProShares Trust.
The SEC had previously rejected an application from the Winklevoss twins to list their Bitcoin Trust Exchange-Traded Fund in March 2017. Cboe’s proposal was meant to address concerns cited by the SEC that caused others to withdraw their applications prior to their being formally rejected.
The notice of the withdrawal came by the SEC, which said in a notice that the Cboe BZX Exchange on Tuesday had pulled the proposed rule change that would have allowed it to list shares of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust if approved.
The notice gave no details as to why Cboe had decided to back away from its proposed rule change. Widespread speculation is that Cboe believed that it would be rejected by the SEC. In an interview with CoinDesk, Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital asset strategy at Van Eck, claimed that the filing had only “been temporarily withdrawn.”
“We are actively working with regulators and major market participants to build appropriate market structure frameworks for a Bitcoin ETF and digital assets in general,” Gurbacs is quoted as saying. VanEck Chief Executive Jan van Eck told CNBC that the proposal would be submitted at a later date following further discussions with the SEC.
In previous years negative news surrounding ETF applications often resulted in the price of bitcoin dropping, but this wasn’t the case today. Bitcoin was trading at $3,541.99 as of 10:30 p.m., down 1 percent over the last 24 hours but within its recent price band.
Image: 159526894@N02/Flickr
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