For years, we have been writing about the reluctance of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. See here and here. The stated concern of the SEC was whether the Bitcoin market was sufficiently resistant to market manipulation. However, as we recently reported, on February 12, 2021, Canada approved such an ETF. Indeed, it now has three: I Galaxy Bitcoin ETF (BTCX), Purpose Bitcoin ETF (BTCC), and the Evolve Bitcoin ETF (EBIT).…
Eight times since 2013, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has repeatedly refused to approve applications for a cryptocurrency-linked exchange traded fund (ETF). See here and here. Time and again, the SEC said that the applicants were unable to persuade the Commission that the Bitcoin market was sufficiently resistant to market manipulation. Another common theme was the dissent of Hester Pierce (affectionately known as “Crypto Mom), who said in January 2020, for example: This order…
In a January 14, 2020 filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Bitwise Asset Management requested the withdrawal of its application for a cryptocurrency-linked exchange traded fund (ETF). This came after the SEC had rejected Bitwise’s proposal in October 2019. On February 26, 2020, the SEC issued an Order that rejected the request by Wilshire Phoenix for a Bitcoin-based ETF. The SEC’s reasoning was similar to what it had said in 2019 with…