The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected a rule change proposed by NYSE Acra that would have allowed the debut of bitcoin exchange-traded funds on both NYSE Acra itself as well as the Cboe BZX Exchange.

Consideration of the rule change goes back to January. The SEC delayed making a decision multiple times, most recently in August, before finally rejecting the proposal Wednesday.

In its filing, the SEC said that it was rejecting the proposed rule change as NYSE Arca has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5). That section requires that a national securities exchange be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”

The rejection refers to the market manipulation of cryptocurrencies, in this case bitcoin. The commission had previously expressed concern regarding the liquidity and valuation of the underlying instruments in which the funds intend to primarily invest — that is, the availability and price of bitcoin.

In response to the ruling, Bitwise Asset Management, the main company supporting the NYSE Acra application, said that while it appreciates the “SEC staff’s careful review and ongoing analysis related to bitcoin ETF application,” it intends to “re-file an application to list and trade shares of the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust as soon as appropriate.”

Despite having lost in its attempts to list an ETF, Bitwise is seemingly taking the ruling as a stepping stone to having the rules changed eventually.

“The detailed feedback they have provided in the Order provides critical context and a clear pathway for ETF applicants to continue moving forward on efforts to list a bitcoin ETF,” Matt Hougan, global head of research at Bitwise Asset Management, said in a statement. “While we were not able to satisfy the SEC’s concerns inside the statutory 240-day review window afforded these filings, and while they have identified the need for additional data and context to interpret our key findings, we are pleased with the progress that the industry has made.”

Hougan added that “with additional research and continued progress in the broader ecosystem, the remaining concerns and challenges raised in this order will ultimately be satisfied.”

It won’t be an easy task. The list of companies that have tried and been rejected or pulled their applications on the expectation of rejection is a long one.

Previous rejected or withdrawn bitcoin EFT applications include an attempt by the Winklevoss twins to list their Bitcoin Trust ETF in March 2017 as well as Reality Shares ETF Trust, Cboe Bitcoin ETF,  Direxion Shares ETF Trust and ProShares Trust. VanEck and SolidX, two companies that were originally attempting to have bitcoin ETF’s listed along with Bitwise, withdrew their applications in September.

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