The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission again delayed a decision on approving two Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, dealing another blow to those in the cryptocurrencies community holding on to the belief that a favorable decision was imminent.
The regulator postponed until October a ruling on whether listing rules can change to allow the two funds to start trading. Decisions on both the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust, which wants to track the 10 largest digital tokens, and the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust have been repeatedly pushed back.
Bitcoin was weaker much of the day ahead of the decision and traded down about 3.8 per cent to US$11,418 as of 5 p.m. in New York. Representatives for Bitwise didn’t immediately return requests for comment. The SEC also did not return requests for comment.
Other applications for approval -- which at one point exceeded 25 requests -- have also been delayed. The agency has also rejected an exchange’s request last year to list a Bitcoin ETF backed by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss.
The head of the commission has said previously that concern over a lack of investor protections makes it unlikely his agency will approve a Bitcoin ETF anytime soon. The chairman, Jay Clayton, said he remains worried about theft and manipulation on exchanges.
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