Cboe’s Bitcoin ETF Application Pulled After Repeated SEC Delays

Jan 23 2019, 8:00 PMJan 23 2019, 8:54 PMJanuary 23 2019, 8:00 PMJanuary 23 2019, 8:54 PM

(Bloomberg) -- Cboe Global Markets Inc. pulled its application to list the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission repeatedly delayed a decision on approving the product.

The decision was outlined in a Wednesday filing with the SEC. Bitcoin’s price fell following the disclosure.

The Cboe’s application would have permitted a fund from VanEck Associates Corp. and SolidX Partners Inc. to list on the Cboe BZX Exchange. The SEC has indicated it’s not comfortable approving an ETF until it can be proven that the underlying spot market for Bitcoin is less susceptible to manipulation.

“The Bitcoin ETF filing has been temporarily withdrawn,” said Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital asset strategy at VanEck. “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.”

The SEC is currently impacted by the partial government shutdown, with most employees at the regulator furloughed.