SEC Delays Yet Another Bitcoin ETF Decision Until June

The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the typical 45-day time period to come to a decision on VanEck’s Bitcoin ETF application.

What Happened: "The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the comments received,” said the U.S regulator in a filing.

The SEC also named June 17, 2021, as the new date by which the decision will be reached.

Why It Matters: So far, the regulator has been reluctant to approve a single Bitcoin ETF in the country, rejecting a number of applications over the years.

“This line of disapprovals leads me to conclude that this Commission is unwilling to approve the listing of any product that would provide access to the market for bitcoin and that no filing will meet the ever-shifting standards that this Commission insists on applying to bitcoin-related products—and only to bitcoin-related products,” wrote SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce in a dissenting statement last year.

However, with Gary Gensler now at the helm of the SEC, many were optimistic that 2021 might finally be the year of the long-awaited Bitcoin-ETF.

See also: Best Crypto ETFs

The renewed optimism led to more Bitcoin ETF applications by Fidelity Investments, NYDIG, and even Grayscale Investments applying to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust -  the largest Bitcoin fund in the world – to an ETF.

“We hope that the commission approves Bitcoin ETFs and recognizes that VanEck submitted the earliest active 19b-4 among all issuers,” said Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital asset strategy at VanEck to Bloomberg, adding, “A Bitcoin ETF isn’t controversial anymore.”