According to Reuters, the US Securities and Exchange Commission has delayed its decision to evaluate the spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund, which would have been a first if approved.
SEC Postpones Ark Invest’s Application for Bitcoin ETF to August 30
The commission will have to decide by August 30 whether to greenlight the joint ETF application by Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest and 21Shares.
According to the reason for the postponement, the commission needs sufficient additional time to consider the application in question.
The delay comes after the SEC rejected an attempt to convert Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust into an ETF. After Grayscale’s application was rejected, the company was very uncomfortable with this and reported that the possibility of suing the SEC was on the table.
However, the SEC cryptocurrency thinks they are in fact securities and therefore should be valued in their jurisdiction.
The SEC has a clear stance on whether a cryptocurrency is a security. SEC chairman Gary Gensler recently answered this type of question in a statement. Gensler shared his thoughts that if a coin is initially pre-sold and money is raised, such crypto assets should be considered securities.
According to this statement by Gensler, many crypto assets fall into the securities classification. Among these is Ripple, which is still in court.
Remarkably, however, Bitcoin will not be considered a security as it in no way fits Gensler’s description.
*Not investment advice.