Amidst devastating losses in the crypto market, the prospect of a spot Bitcoin ETF launch in the US does not appear in the near term.
But that hasn’t stopped VanEcK from filing a new application for the same. VanEck Bitcoin Trust is yet another attempt of the investment giant after facing rejection from the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
VanEcK’s Bitcoin ETF Proposal
SEC had earlier turned down VanEcK’s proposal in November last year. The agency cited,
“The Commission concludes that [the fund] has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with … the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be ‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to ‘protect investors and the public interest.”
Despite relentless efforts by many applicants for a spot Bitcoin ETF, the SEC has been reluctant in approving one. It raised concerns about the ability to prevent market manipulation and protect investors by entities launching them. However, several bitcoin futures ETFs have been approved in the US.
Van Eck tries spot #Bitcoin ETF again
Cboe re-files 19b-4 for the VanEck Bitcoin Trust, a spot Bitcoin ETF, after it was disapproved last Nov
SEC has not "noticed" this filing yet.
Final deadline: Mar 3, 2023
MVIS® CryptoCompare Bitcoin Benchmark Ratehttps://t.co/mTJF14okCy https://t.co/5ckwIiOJFT pic.twitter.com/7xpPkBTuic
— ETF Hearsay by Henry Jim (@ETFhearsay) June 30, 2022
Grayscale Fights Back
Interestingly, VanEck’s move to re-file an application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the SEC comes just days after Grayscale’s application was rejected by the watchdogs.
Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas also observed,
VanEck now re-filing for a spot bitcoin ETF today. Guessing so they have live filing just in case Grayscale wins their case. Either way, here we go again.. https://t.co/nXRvlUQZ6d
— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) June 30, 2022
“VanEck now re-filing for a spot bitcoin ETF today. Guessing so they have live filing just in case Grayscale wins their case. Either way, here we go again..”
Grayscale, for one, is keen on taking the legal route. As such, the world’s largest asset manager has filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The company’s senior legal strategist Donald B. Verrilli Jr., who also happens to be an ex-solicitor general, along with a team of attorneys at law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell are leading the defense.
Much of Grayscale’s argument centers around the SEC’s failure to apply, what it deems, “consistent treatment to Bitcoin investment vehicles.” The firm has accused the agency of “acting arbitrarily and capriciously in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act and Securities Exchange Act of 1934.”
On the other hand, the SEC said Grayscale’s application to turn the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF was rejected because the company could not answer the agency’s questions with regard to market manipulation concerns.
