As the race to launch the first Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) continues, a meeting Tuesday between investment management firm VanEck and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seems to have successfully resolved the regulator’s main issues with its ETF proposal.
VanEck’s ETF application was rejected among several others in August, with the SEC calling into question the ability to prevent Bitcoin markets being manipulated and subject to insider trading. In Tuesday’s discussions, five of the SEC’s key issues that lead to the rejection have apparently been resolved.
The SEC published a document outlining the main points of discussion in the meeting, listing the following reasons it now thinks the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust should now be approved:
“• There now exists a significant regulated derivatives market for Bitcoin
• Relevant markets – CBOE, Bitcoin futures, OTC desks – are regulated
• Concerns around price manipulation have been mitigated, consistent with approval of prior commodity-based ETPs
• CBOE’s rules are designed to surveil for potential manipulation of Trust shares
• Promotes investor protection”
Playing by the rules
It would seem that VanEck made a real and successful attempt at altering the structure of its ETF in order to reach compliance with the SEC’s heavy regulations aimed at protecting investors.
Several of the changes made are listed in the document published following the meeting, including that VanEck has agreed to use OTC Bitcoin trading desk pricing which is regulated by the CFTC, and instituting a USD 200,000 share value to price out retail investors.
SEC review deadline set for Friday
As Bitcoin News reported earlier this month, the SEC has a deadline set for approving the ETF’s: Friday 26th October.
While analysists have generally agreed they do not expect to see an approval until next year, the success of VanEck’s meeting may prove them wrong.
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