SEC Seeks Further Comments on The VanEck-SolidX Bitcoin ETF Proposal
On Thursday, September 20, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) released a notice seeking further comments on the much-awaited CBOE Bitcoin ETF. The SEC notice carries the headline of an "order instituting proceedings to determine whether to approve or disapprove a proposed rule change.”
Filed earlier in June 2018, the CBOE Bitcoin ETF fund shares will be listed on the Chicago Board of Exchange (CBOE) BZX Equities Exchange (BZX). In July, CBOE submitted its filing to the SEC through the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust - a joint venture between financial firms VanEck and SolidX. The CBOE Bitcoin ETF is physically-backed by Bitcoin tokens which will be held by the Trust.
The SEC has said that it hasn’t reached on any outcome yet and wants more inputs from the public on the proposed rule change. The SEC has received more than 1400 comments so far. In the latest order, the SEC says: “Institution of such proceedings is appropriate at this time in view of the legal and policy issues raised by the proposed rule change. Institution of proceedings does not indicate that the Commission has reached any conclusions with respect to any of the issues involved. Rather, as described below, the Commission seeks and encourages interested persons to provide comments on the proposed rule change.”
In the latest notice, the SEC has also shared some of the commenter’s previous views which note that “bitcoin is arguably less susceptible to manipulation than other commodities that underlie ETPs.”
The SEC notice comes just 10 before its expected ruling this month end on September 30. However, to be noted, the SEC can further postpone this ruling from the said date as deemed necessary by the agency.
CBOE looks to be taking a cautious move with respect to its VanEck-SolidX ETF proposal. CBOE President and Chief Operating Officer, Chris Concannon expressed his interest saying they certainly would like to be first in getting the Bitcoin ETF approval. “There’s a huge first-mover advantage in the ETF world,” Concannon said. Once the assets “come pouring in, it tends to continue. We’ve seen that in other ETFs.”
On the other hand, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce has expressed an official dissent on the agency’s assessment of crypto products. In her latest statement, Commissioner Peirce said: “The Commission should not default to a demand that the crypto markets be subject to comprehensive government regulation as a precondition to allowing products linked to those markets to be traded in markets that we regulate.”
Additionally, after the rejection of Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF proposal, the SEC commissioner also said that the agency should limit its job to evaluate Bitcoin as an asset class, and not police around the innovation and future of Bitcoin.