SEC Delays Decision on 4 Bitcoin ETFs

The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed its decision on four proposals for bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

• The SEC gave notice on Wednesday that it is extending the initial review period by an additional 45 to 60 days for these applications.
• The applications are those of Global X, WisdomTree, Kryptoin and Valkyrie. The new deadline dates for the SEC to make its decisions are Nov. 21 (Global X), Dec. 8 (Valkyrie), Dec. 11 (WisdomTree) and Dec. 24 (Kryptoin).
• These are just some of the more than a dozen applications the SEC has received for ETFs linked to bitcoin from financial service firms.
• Among the four to have their review periods extended this week, Valkyrie is the only one that is an ETF linked to the bitcoin futures market rather than the performance of bitcoin itself.
• SEC Chairman Gary Gensler has repeatedly suggested that bitcoin futures ETFs may have a better chance of gaining regulatory approval than those that invest in spot bitcoin.

Read more: Gensler’s Preference for Bitcoin Futures Products Is Likely Bad News for a Spot BTC ETF

CORRECTION (Oct. 1, 14:16 UTC): A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the decision deadline for each of the funds had been extended by 45 days. The deadline was actually extended by 45 days for two of the funds, and 60 days for the other two.