SEC chair says concerns about lack of spot Bitcoin ETF under ‘careful consideration’
SEC building in Washington DC, USA
Gary Gensler said the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers every proposal seeking the listing of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs)“under the appropriate regulatory framework.”
US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler has hinted in a letter to US lawmaker Tom Emmer that the commission may not be any closer to approving a Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF).
In a response to the lawmaker’s letter sent to the SEC last November, Gensler says that the agency’s handling of all the Bitcoin (BTC) spot ETFs to come before it has been in accordance with the Exchange Act.
The SEC chair, who pointed out that he remains technology-neutral, said the regulator is tasked with ensuring the proposed spot ETP is “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”
Emmer, acknowledging receipt of Gensler’s letter, noted that lawmakers would continue to oversee the regulator towards its mission of maintaining “fair and orderly markets.”
We received a response from SEC Chair Gensler to our 11/3/21 letter regarding BTC spot ETFs. This issue remains a priority for us and we will continue to oversee the SEC in its mission to maintain fair and orderly markets and facilitate capital formation. pic.twitter.com/WbgSDj7o0T
— Tom Emmer (@RepTomEmmer) February 17, 2022
The SEC has approved a number of Bitcoin futures ETFs, with the first coming in early November as Bitcoin price rallied to its all-time high of $69,000. But while spot ETPs have been launched in Canada for instance, the US market still awaits its first spot-based fund.
Gensler, in this latest view of the matter, only appears to suggest the waiting might yet be further off. His remark about a possible approval is that the commission will give “careful consideration” to all proposals seeking the listing and trading of Bitcoin spot ETFs.
As it stands, the US has approved Bitcoin (BTC) futures ETFs by ProShares, Valkyrie, and VanEck. Of the recent spot ETF applications to come before it, the SEC has rejected proposals from SkyBridge, Fidelity and WisdomTree.
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