The SEC Stops Accepting Public Comments on Bitcoin ETFs, Takes Time to Make Decision

Here's what you should know about the current situation with crypto-related ETFs in the US.What are Bitcoin ETFs?Cointelegraph has previously covered ETFs and why they are important for mass adoption in detail.

A Bitcoin ETF, in turn, tracks Bitcoin as the underlying asset.

The deadline in question was for nine crypto ETFs reviewed previously in AugustOn August 22, the SEC rejected a total of nine applications of various Bitcoin ETFs from three different applicants.

On August 23, the agency made a U-turn and stated that it would review its decision of all nine ETFs in the future.

Commissioner Peirce interfered after previous SEC decisions on crypto ETFs as well.

On July 26, soon after the SEC's rejection of the Winklevoss brothers' application for a Bitcoin ETF, the Commissioner Peirce released a statement, where she opined that the agency's move "Sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets, a signal that may have effects far beyond the fate of Bitcoin ETPs." Moreover, she claimed that the agency overstepped "Its limited role" because it focused on the nature of the underlying BTC market instead of the derivative itself.

The deadline was for public comments, not the decision per seOn October 4, the regulator issued a corrected order scheduling filing on the initially rejected nine crypto ETFs, where it clarified that "By November 5, 2018, any party or other person may file a statement in support of, or in opposition to, the action made pursuant to delegated authority."

It is a common practice for the SEC to ask the public to weigh in - for instance, the regulator had received more than 1,300 comments on the proposed rule change to list and trade shares of the VanEck SolidX ETF, and then requested even more.

The agency have been declining all crypto-related ETFs since March 2017, when it rejected the first one, a Bitcoin ETF run by the Winklevoss twins.

Apart from this batch, one of the most promising ETFs is the one powered by investment firm VanEck and financial service company SolidX with an additional emphasis on insurance: the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF is derivative-backed, according to its press release, implying that the firms will actually hold BTC. This will allegedly protect against the loss or theft of the cryptocurrency, which might be an important factor for the SEC.Whilst there is no definite deadline for the nine Bitcoin ETFs in question, the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF will reportedly be reviewed by the watchdog until February 2019.