SEC Delays Decision Regarding Bitcoin ETF’s

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SEC Delays Decision Regarding Bitcoin ETF’s

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed the review of 5 Bitcoin ETFs proposed by investment firm Direxion Asset Management, claiming that more time is needed to review the proposal. This postponement pushes the impending SEC decision to September 21, 2018.

In the most recent edition of the Federal Register, the SEC officially announced the postponement. The SEC stated, “The Commission finds it 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 this proposed rule change. Accordingly, the Commission, … designates September 21, 2018, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove the proposed rule change.”

The ETF proposals from Direxion are not alone. There have been proposals for Bitcoin ETF’s for awhile now, although the SEC has rejected them every time. Last month, the CBOE submitted a joint ETF proposal by VanEck and SolidX, who are planning to launch a physically-backed bitcoin fund.

Could this news be behind the mini-bull run that boosted Bitcoin above $8000 for the first time since May? There is no way to tell for sure, but speculators think that the approval of a Bitcoin ETF could push the Bitcoin price to places we haven’t yet seen. Not everyone is excited however. Michael Cohn, chief investment strategist at Atlantis Asset Management, spoke on the prospect of Direxion’s Bitcoin ETF being approved, saying “That would be insane for them to actually approve this. Then they’re putting a rubber stamp on it as an asset, and I don’t think governments want to go there yet. It just seems as though it’s not something I’d want to put my clients into in any way, shape or form. You can only be embarrassed.”

Embarrassed or not, many investors are eager to put their money in a Bitcoin ETF. However, their eagerness will have to wait until September 21, when the SEC will finally give out their verdict. If history repeats itself, which I think it will, then Bitcoin ETF’s are back to square one. However, the optimist knows that there is a first for everything.