The Cboe BZX Exchange has withdrawn a
proposed rule change that, if approved, would clear the way for a
bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by VanEck and SolidX. In a
notice published Wednesday, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) deputy secretary Eduardo Aleman wrote that the Cboe BZX Exchange
had pulled its proposed rule change, which would have allowed it to list
shares of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust if approved. The exchange
filed its withdrawal on Jan. 22. The proposal was filed last June, when
VanEck, an investment firm, teamed up with financial services provider
SolidX to provide a physically-backed bitcoin ETF to the market (other
such proposals have relied on bitcoin futures contracts, rather than the
cryptocurrency’s price itself). The SEC delayed any decision on the
proposal a number of times, asking for public comment and taking
meetings with proponents. The regulator faced a final decision deadline
of Feb. 27. While the notice itself did not provide a reason for the
withdrawal, some securities lawyers speculated that the ongoing
government shutdown would result in the ETF being denied, as no staffers
at the SEC are able to review the proposed rule change. In an email,
VanEck director of digital asset strategy Gabor Gurbacs told CoinDesk
that the filing “has been temporarily withdrawn.” “We are actively
working with regulators and major market participants to build
appropriate market structure frameworks for a Bitcoin ETF and digital
assets in general,” he said. VanEck CEO Jan van Eck told CNBC earlier
Wednesday that the proposal was being withdrawn and would be submitted
at a later date following continued discussions with the SEC – yet those
talks were essentially put on hold as a result of the ongoing partial
government shutdown in the U.S. “We were engaged in discussions with
the SEC about the bitcoin-related issues, custody, market manipulation,
prices, and that had to stop. And so, instead of trying to slip through
or something, we just had the application pulled and we will re-file
when the SEC gets going again,” van Eck told the network. In a previous
interview with CoinDesk, attorney Ethan Silver, chair of the
broker-dealer practice at Lowenstein Sandler, explained that “if [the
SEC] were forced to deal with [the proposal], they would sooner deny it
than be put in a position [where it is approved on a technicality].”
The Cboe BZX Exchange has withdrawn a
proposed rule change that, if approved, would clear the way for a
bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) backed by VanEck and SolidX. In a
notice published Wednesday, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC) deputy secretary Eduardo Aleman wrote that the Cboe BZX Exchange
had pulled its proposed rule change, which would have allowed it to list
shares of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust if approved. The exchange
filed its withdrawal on Jan. 22. The proposal was filed last June, when
VanEck, an investment firm, teamed up with financial services provider
SolidX to provide a physically-backed bitcoin ETF to the market (other
such proposals have relied on bitcoin futures contracts, rather than the
cryptocurrency’s price itself). The SEC delayed any decision on the
proposal a number of times, asking for public comment and taking
meetings with proponents. The regulator faced a final decision deadline
of Feb. 27. While the notice itself did not provide a reason for the
withdrawal, some securities lawyers speculated that the ongoing
government shutdown would result in the ETF being denied, as no staffers
at the SEC are able to review the proposed rule change. In an email,
VanEck director of digital asset strategy Gabor Gurbacs told CoinDesk
that the filing “has been temporarily withdrawn.” “We are actively
working with regulators and major market participants to build
appropriate market structure frameworks for a Bitcoin ETF and digital
assets in general,” he said. VanEck CEO Jan van Eck told CNBC earlier
Wednesday that the proposal was being withdrawn and would be submitted
at a later date following continued discussions with the SEC – yet those
talks were essentially put on hold as a result of the ongoing partial
government shutdown in the U.S. “We were engaged in discussions with
the SEC about the bitcoin-related issues, custody, market manipulation,
prices, and that had to stop. And so, instead of trying to slip through
or something, we just had the application pulled and we will re-file
when the SEC gets going again,” van Eck told the network. In a previous
interview with CoinDesk, attorney Ethan Silver, chair of the
broker-dealer practice at Lowenstein Sandler, explained that “if [the
SEC] were forced to deal with [the proposal], they would sooner deny it
than be put in a position [where it is approved on a technicality].”Join Geezgo for free. Use Geezgo's end-to-end encrypted Chat with your Closenets (friends, relatives, colleague etc) in personalized ways.>>
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