The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has begun its process of consideration for a rule change proposal for listing a Bitcoin ETF proposal submitted by Bitwise Asset Management and NYSE Arca.
A Bitcoin ETF application by Bitwise was filed in January 2019, but was not published in the Federal Register by the regulatory commission due to the US government shutdown. That has changed now, as the proposal has been accepted to be examined by the SEC.
This rule change proposal was published in the federal register on February 15, 2019, after the announcement by SEC on February 11. The SEC has 45 days to make its initial decision on the proposal and 240 days to make its final decision.
Members of the general public have 3 weeks to file in any response or comments they have about this proposal.
A Bitcoin ETF remains the most anticipated financial instrument expected to be created for Bitcoin. Many hope that it will bring in liquidity for the crypto market, triggering an uptrend in the price of Bitcoin.
Bitwise is said to have studied the failures of past Bitcoin ETF rejections. The proposed Bitcoin ETF Trust will track the Bitwise Bitcoin Total Return Index and indicator, which tracks Bitcoin and “meaningful hard forks” according to the initial registration form by the firm.
The CEO of Bitwise Asset Management, Hunter Horsley, discussed on the prospects of their Bitcoin ETF proposal in this interview by CNBC at the 2019 edition of the Inside ETFs Conference. He expressed absolute confidence in the chances of the ETF proposal being approved.
There are several rejected Bitcoin ETF proposals already. However, SEC Commissioner Robert Jackson Jr. expressed that a Bitcoin ETF is a matter of when, not if. Also, Hester Peirce, also a commissioner at the SEC, offered optimism over the eventual approval of a Bitcoin ETF.
With the countdown now starting on the attempt at launching a Bitcoin ETF, crypto enthusiasts around the world hope this would be a successful one and an event that helps take the crypto market from the bear trend.
