SEC Delays Decisions on Bitcoin ETFs from Major Firms, Bitcoin Price Drops

The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced a delay in reaching decisions regarding seven proposals for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Notably, the proposals included those presented by financial giants BlackRock and Fidelity. 

The delay is prompted by a surge in applications and will see the decision deadlines for these ETFs extended.

Specifically, the SEC pushed the deadlines for BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust, the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, the WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust, and the Invesco Galaxy Bitcoin ETF to October 17. Moreover, the Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust’s decision deadline has been deferred until October 16. Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund’s deadline has been rescheduled to October 19.

The SEC has justified this delay by emphasizing the importance of having sufficient time to conduct comprehensive assessments of the proposed rule changes and the pertinent issues they raise. 

Notably, the Securities and Exchange Commission has yet to grant approval for any spot Bitcoin ETFs, citing potential fraud and market manipulation concerns. It is worth noting that, in 2021, the SEC did allow the trading of the first Bitcoin futures ETF. 

The announcement of the SEC’s delay in decision-making caused a 5.1% decline in Bitcoin’s value within 24 hours. At the time of writing, the price of Bitcoin was approximately $26.009, according to CoinGecko.

At the same time, earlier this week, Bitcoin reached $27.497, following a significant win for the cryptocurrency industry. On August 29, the U.S. District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled in favor of Grayscale Investments in its ongoing lawsuit against the SEC concerning a spot Bitcoin fund. It’s worth noting that the ruling does not guarantee immediate approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF. However, it does necessitate a reevaluation of Grayscale’s ETF proposal by the SEC. 

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