The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is pushing back the deadline to decide on four Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications currently awaiting approval.
The regulator says it needs additional time to look into a proposed rule change that will allow the Nasdaq Stock Market to list and trade shares of the Global X, Kryptoin, Valkyrie and WisdomTree Bitcoin ETFs.
“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 any comments.”
The SEC’s decisions on the Valkyrie, Global X, WisdomTree and Kryptoin ETFs are now due on December 8th, November 21st, December 11th and December 24th, respectively. The Valkryie ETF is the only one in which its performance is linked to the Bitcoin futures market rather than directly to BTC.
The delay comes after SEC chair Gary Gensler signaled potential support for a futures-based Bitcoin ETF.
“[Regarding] investment vehicles providing exposure to crypto assets, earlier this year a number of open-end mutual funds launched that invested in Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME)-traded Bitcoin [BTC] futures.
Subsequently, we’ve started to see filings under the Investment Company Act with regard to exchange-traded funds seeking to invest in CME-traded Bitcoin futures.
When combined with the other federal securities laws, the ’40 Act provides significant investor protections for mutual funds and ETFs. I look forward to staff’s review of such filings.”
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