CBOE Global Markets recently filed another application for a Bitcoin ETF. This was sent after several similar requests by other firms were denied, due mainly to regulatory concerns related to cryptocurrency markets.
CBOE’s application comes after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) will not be classified as securities. This means it may have a better chance of being approved, thus potentially drawing more institutional investors to the digital currency ecosystem.
CBOE Global Markets launched Bitcoin futures contracts in the United States on December 10, 2017. Its current Bitcoin ETF application was posted online by the SEC, and the federal regulator asked traders and investors to provide feedback regarding CBOE’s request.
Reportedly, the proposed ETF will limit trading to SolidX Bitcoin Shares, with one share’s value being 25 Bitcoins. Should the application be approved, trading is scheduled to start by Q1 2019.
Past Attempts
In the past, the SEC has rejected several Bitcoin ETF applications, one of them from the Winklevoss twins, whose exchange recently hired a former NYSE CIO, in March, 2017. Lack of adequate regulations was the main reason cited by the American regulator for rejecting it.
Last year, the SEC issued a statement that read:
[The] significant markets for Bitcoin are unregulated. Therefore … the Commission does not find the proposed rule change to be consistent with the Exchange Act.
Despite the SEC’s active involvement in monitoring and regulating cryptocurrency markets, there still seems to be a lack of clarity among US citizens as to exactly how crypto assets are regulated and which government bodies are responsible for regulating them.
While decentralized cryptocurrencies are likely not securities, there’s still confusion surrounding initial coin offerings (ICOs). Whether or not regulators see ICOs as securities is unclear, although previous announcements pointed in that direction.
