In recent development, the United State Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has rated recent Bitcoin ETF spot filings by various asset managers as “inadequate.”
According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, the US Financial Services Authority has notified the Nasdaq and Chicago Board Options (Cboe) exchanges of this decision, saying the disclosures are not “clear and comprehensive enough”.
In this process, Nasdaq and Cboe represent the asset managers behind the ETF applications, including BlackRock, Fidelity, ARK, etc.
According to the SEC, the bitcoin ETF filings should have included more information about their “joint surveillance arrangements” and perhaps the bitcoin spot exchanges involved in those arrangements.
SEC accused of having favorites
After the SEC decision was announced, the crypto market took a hit, with Bitcoin price falling by over $1,000 in a matter of minutes.
Additionally, there has been a variety of reactions from crypto enthusiasts and investors. According to @DavidPBitcoin, the recent SEC statement appears to be an attempt by the commission to move BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF application “up the pecking order for approval ahead of other money managers.”
With total assets of $9.09 trillion, BlackRock Inc. is the largest wealth manager in the world. On July 15, the company applied for a spot Bitcoin ETF, sparking a wave of similar applications from other big-name money managers, including Fidelity, Invesco, WisdomTree, and ARK Invest.
Analyst @DavidPBitcoin claims that the SEC harbors some sort of animosity towards ARK, which just days ago was reported to be leading the race for approval. He alleges that the US Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to reshuffle the cards by having existing ETF applications withdrawn so that BlackRock has the edge on resubmissions.
As interesting as this view is, it is worth noting that there is little evidence of a friendly relationship between the SEC and BlackRock. There is no evidence that the Commission is working against ARK Invest’s ambitions.
The first U.S. Spot Bitcoin ETF could be a long time coming
The crypto industry may have to wait even longer for the approval of the first-ever US spot market bitcoin ETF due to the recent SEC revelations.
Prior to BlackRock’s filing, the SEC was known for rejecting all Bitcoin ETF applications from various companies, including Grayscale, Bitwise, and Ark Invest.
Although the youngest group of asset managers had the opportunity to update and resubmit their filings with the required information, there is still no guarantee that they would meet the Commission’s standards.
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