US SEC delays decision on Cathie Wood's spot bitcoin ETF


The headquarters of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is seen in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 12, 2021. Picture taken May 12, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

(Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has delayed a decision on whether to approve Cathie Wood-led Ark Investment Management's (ARK) spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), a filing by the regulator showed on Friday.

The SEC is seeking public comment on the Ark 21Shares Bitcoin ETF application, and has pushed back the decision date by several weeks to potentially months. It was previously due to make a decision by Aug. 13.

The regulator has in recent years rejected dozens of applications for spot bitcoin ETFs, publicly traded investment vehicles that directly track bitcoin price, citing inadequate level of trading surveillance that could leave the underlying spot market subject to fraud and manipulation.

Still, futures-based bitcoin ETFs that track the price of bitcoin futures contracts have been allowed by regulators since October 2021.

Interest from major financial institutions has helped revive the crypto markets in recent months that had been in the doldrums after a series of high-profile firms collapsed last year including Sam Bankman-Fried's FTX.

In June, BlackRock, the world's biggest asset manager, also filed for a bitcoin ETF, a move that many viewed as a gamechanger for the industry.

In 2021, Wood's ARK and crypto investment firm 21Shares US LLC had first teamed up to file an application for a spot bitcoin ETF with the regulator.

(Reporting by Pritam Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel for breaking news alerts and key updates!

   

Next In Tech News

Singapore's Keppel to buy Japanese AI data centre amid AI boom
Tesla increases wages for staff at German gigafactory by 4%
Apple explores push into smart glasses with ‘Atlas’ user study
Japan's Kioxia sees flash memory demand almost tripling by 2028
Hacker gets into woman’s email, changes every password, tries to make purchases
Foxconn says Oct revenue +8.59% y/y, Q4 outlook good
Want to help a friend find love? Give a PowerPoint presentation
Can an Apple�Watch get AFib patients off bloodthinners?
South Korea fines Meta about $15 million over collection of user data
Ehailing service Bolt says it’s launching in Malaysia soon, already licensed by Apad

Others Also Read