Bitcoin ETFs: another SEC postponement

The SEC has again opted for a postponement of yet another request to issue an ETF on Bitcoin on the US markets. 

Bitcoin Spot ETF: SEC postpones until March

This concerns NYDIG’s ETF based on Spot BTC, whose eventual approval has been postponed until 16 March. 

According to a statement from the SEC yesterday, the agency has designated a longer period to determine whether or not to approve the NYDIG Bitcoin ETF proposal. 

The proposal was initially submitted at the end of June 2021, and in August the SEC had opted for an initial postponement. 

The agency can and very often does extend the deadline for issuing an order approving or disapproving these proposals. It seems to be standard procedure to take as much time as possible when the proposal is not immediately clear for approval or disapproval. 

It writes: 

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised in the comments that have been submitted in connection therewith.

Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, designates March 16, 2022, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove the proposed rule change (File No. SR-NYSEArca-2021-57)”.

US waiting for Bitcoin ETFs

Currently, no Spot Bitcoin-based ETFs have yet been approved on the US markets, only a few based on BTC Futures contracts. 

In addition to NYDIG there are also other proponents who have asked the SEC to approve an ETF on Spot BTC, most notably Grayscale‘s proposal to turn its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF. 

The latter may well be the proposal most likely to be approved, among those relating to ETFs collateralized directly in BTC, because in fact GBTC has already been present on the markets for years, albeit in another form, and has now amply demonstrated to be a safe instrument, beyond the volatility of its share price. 

However, it is worth remembering that several Spot Bitcoin ETFs have already been approved in neighbouring Canada, and have been very successful since the very beginning. 

A crypto consultant at the SEC

It is interesting to note that a few days ago, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler hired a consultant from the Senate Banking Committee, Corey Frayer, to advise on policies related to cryptocurrencies. 

In the official statement, the SEC writes: 

“Corey Frayer advises Chair Gensler on SEC policymaking and interagency work relating to the oversight of crypto assets. Immediately before joining the SEC, he served as Senior Professional Staff on the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs for Chairman Sherrod Brown. Prior to that, he spent a decade as a Senior Advisor working on issues ranging from consumer and investor protection to systemic risks and emerging financial technologies for U.S. Representative Maxine Waters on the House Financial Services Committee and for U.S. Representative Brad Miller of North Carolina. He graduated with a degree in International Economics and Finance from The Catholic University of America”.