thecoinrise.com
The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been continuously rejecting applications for Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) and the most recent on the list is ARK 21Shares.
The SEC has disapproved a proposed rule from the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe), BZX Exchange to list and trade ARK 21Shares BTC ETF, through a recent filing.
The regulatory body said that the suggested rule change, originally published for comment in the Federal Register in August 2021, would not be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices nor protect investors and the public interest.”
According to the SEC, the Cboe BZX Exchange failed to meet the standards for registering a financial product under its rules of practice and the Exchange Act. Exchanges that want to establish a Bitcoin ETF must have “a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying or reference Bitcoin assets,” according to the regulations.
Bitcoin Spot ETF by ARK 21Shares
In June 2021, ARK 21Shares, a European ETP issuer, filed an application with Ark Investment Management for a spot Bitcoin ETF to be listed on the Cboe BZX Exchange with the ticker ARKB. The SEC has 180 days to make a decision or invite public feedback on the offering. The regulatory body’s consideration period was extended until April 2022 in January 2022.
To date, the SEC has not approved any spot crypto ETF applications for public listing in the United States, but it has granted investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin futures, such as ProShares, VanEck, and Valkyrie’s offerings. With over $2 billion in assets under management as of October 2021, ARK 21Shares was one of the major institutional crypto product issuers.
Grayscale, one of the next asset managers to hear from the SEC on their spot Bitcoin ETF, launched a campaign in February to encourage U.S. investors to submit comments to the regulatory body, as TheCoinRise reported. Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust is expected to be converted into a spot BTC ETF by July 6, according to the regulator.