Bitwise refiles for Bitcoin spot ETF following BlackRock
Bitwise's last ETF application and proposed rule change was rejected in July 2022.
Bitwise Asset Management submitted a filing on June 16 for a proposed rule change that would accommodate its planned Bitcoin spot ETF.
Bitwise refiles for Bitcoin spot ETF
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected a previous Bitcoin spot ETF application from Bitwise in June 2022.
At that time, the SEC said that Bitwise’s ETF could not put in place an adequate surveillance-sharing, could not provide protection against market manipulation, and could not show that the relevant market was of significant size.
However, the SEC said that future applications could potentially meet these criteria, and Bitwise attempted to show that this is the case in its latest filing.
Also, in the new filing, BitWise said the SEC should approve, reject, or start other proceedings around its proposed rule change within 45 to 90 days.
The application was published by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) but has not been processed by the SEC, meaning that the actual deadline is unclear.
Proposal follows BlackRock news
Bitwise’s latest filing follows a June 15 Bitcoin spot ETF filing from the asset management giant BlackRock. That application has prompted optimism due to the fact that the SEC has rarely rejected BlackRock’s ETF applications, though some experts suggest that the application is unlikely to succeed.
The U.S. SEC has not yet approved a Bitcoin spot ETF and has rejected numerous other applicants within the cryptocurrency and financial industry.
Bitwise CEO Matthew Hougan acknowledged the situation in March. There, he said that although he believes the U.S. will eventually approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, there is currently “no path forward” for companies that want to offer such a fund.