The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed making a judgment about the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for spot bitcoin that various companies have proposed. Before an anticipated government shutdown that would effect the SEC, applications from financial heavyweight Blackrock, asset manager Valkyrie, and others have been delayed.
U.S. Securities Regulator Delays Decisions on Several Applications for Bitcoin ETFs
After the country's regulatory agency in charge of the securities market again postponed making decisions, the future of many proposals to launch spot bitcoin ETFs in the US is still uncertain. According to documents on Thursday, the decision affects the well-known applications of investing juggernaut Blackrock as well as those of Valkyrie, Bitwise, and Invesco.
The change comes after the judgement on the spot bitcoin ETFs offered by Ark 21shares and Global X was postponed earlier this week. The first was put forth by Cboe BZX Exchange, 21shares, and Ark Invest together, while Cboe BZX and Global X presented the second.
The most recent delays follow the SEC's decision to postpone its ruling on seven funds, including those from Wisdomtree, Vaneck, and Fidelity, at the end of August. Some of them have deadlines in the second half of October. Franklin Templeton, who entered the contest this month, is another contender.
James Seyffart, a Bloomberg analyst, claims that the impending partial closure of the US government is what caused the early arrival of the delay orders. A "skeletal" staff will be left at the SEC as a result, its chair Gary Gensler warned lawmakers on Wednesday.
If the parties in Congress are unable to come to an agreement on their budget, the Commission and other government agencies would be forced to lay off federal employees. Seyffart added the applications from Vaneck, Wisdomtree, and Fidelity to the list of anticipated delays in his post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Early next year, the SEC might postpone its decisions yet more. A court judgment in favor of Grayscale from August that provided optimism for bitcoin ETFs in America may potentially be appealed by the regulator. Judges described the SEC's decision to prohibit the conversion of the cryptocurrency asset manager's Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a spot bitcoin ETF as "arbitrary and capricious."
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