The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has pushed its decision on two spot Bitcoin ETF applications by ARK Invest and 21Shares and Global X, with the former postponed to January 2024.
Amid various calls for a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, there are speculations that there could be more SEC delays for similar filings from other companies, which could mean that investors and stakeholders may have to wait till next year to get such a product approved.
In a letter published on Sept. 26, the SEC said that it is extending its decision to either reject or approve the ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF filing by another 60 days, with its final verdict on the proposal to happen on January 10, 2024.
The regulator previously postponed its response on the proposed ARK 21Shares spot Bitcoin ETF on Aug. 11 to seek new public comments, giving itself until Nov. 11 — 180 days after the proposal was first published in the Federal Register for comment — to give its verdict.
The latest extension date gives the SEC a total of 240 days, the maximum time frame allowed for the regulator to either approve or deny an application. Also, the agency pushed its decision on Global X Bitcoin Trust till Nov. 21, 2023.
Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart noted that the SEC’s extensions of its verdict on the proposals from ARK Invest and 21Shares, and Global X happened earlier than usual while speculating that the regulator’s early move may be result of a looming US government shutdown.
The latest development by the SEC comes shortly after four members of Congress wrote a letter to the agency’s Chairman Gary Gensler, urging him to “immediately” approve spot Bitcoin ETF listing.
According to the lawmakers, the court’s ruling in a case involving Grayscale and the SEC meant that the regulator had no further reason to continue to turn down spot BTC ETF filings “under inconsistent and discriminatory standards.”
“The Court’s finding underscores a fundamental point. A spot Bitcoin ETP is indistinguishable from a Bitcoin futures ETP. Thus, the SEC’s current posture is untenable moving forward.”
Meanwhile, spot Bitcoin ETF applications from companies such as BlackRock, Valkyrie, Invesco, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise, and WisdomTree were also extended and are due in October 2023. Seyffart, however, speculated that there could be more delays in the coming days, with the chance of an approved spot Bitcoin ETF in the US becoming slimmer in 2023.