The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced today that it is postponing its decision on the Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposed by Ark Invest and 21Shares.
The SEC said it needed more time to consider the application made by the Cboe BZX Exchange on behalf of the sponsors.
The SEC also requested comments from interested parties on the application, specifically the sponsors' surveillance-sharing agreement with the BTC spot market.
However, some experts explained that the request for comment does not mean the approval or rejection of the SEC. James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, tweeted that requesting comment is standard procedure and shouldn't be over-commented:
“This is a standard late letter. There is some confusion about this, but only the first few paragraphs of this letter were written by the SEC and are extremely standard. The rest is just copy-pasting the 19b-4 application written by CBOE (& Ark/21Shares), not much to read here.”
He also added that the SEC is seeking comment on the proposed Coinbase Share of Custody Agreement, which is a key factor in determining whether the ETF will meet the requirements of the Exchange Act.
The SEC has set a new deadline, November 14, 2023, to make a final decision on Ark Invest's Bitcoin ETF.
*Not investment advice.
