Today would’ve been the day that the SEC finally ruled on the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF.
Instead, it’s all quiet on the western front today, as investors who haven’t gotten the latest memo are wondering why there’s no news on the SEC ruling.
Go back to December 6, and you can see that the SEC punted the ball down the road once again, giving itself until February 27 of next year to look at a rule change that would accommodate listing the Bitcoin ETF.
“The commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change, so that it has sufficient time to consider this proposed rule change,” reads a statement reportedly from the SEC and illustrating the verbosity of such motions.
These sorts of delays, which are so endemic in the legal world, are frustrating for stakeholders. However, Helen Peirce, the individual that many investors see as an advocate for crypto on the commission, has gone public saying that approving a Bitcoin ETF may take some time:
“Don’t hold your breath,” Peirce told investors according to Cointelegraph.
In the past, Pierce has been vocal about her support for moving ahead with some Bitcoin accommodations.
In a July 26 statement, weighing in on the commission’s disapproval of a rule change for a Winklevos ETF, Peirce laid out the case for moving on crypto.
“I am concerned that the Commission’s approach undermines investor protection by precluding greater institutionalization of the bitcoin market,” she wrote at the time, echoing the sentiments of more than a few BTC investors. “More institutional participation would ameliorate many of the Commission’s concerns with the bitcoin market that underlie its disapproval order. More generally, the Commission’s interpretation and application of the statutory standard sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets, a signal that may have effects far beyond the fate of bitcoin ETPs.”
Mark your calendars for February 27 and look for any additional dragging of the heels on this very important market decision. If a Bitcoin ETF is approved, that opens the floodgates for many smaller investors to jump on the Bitcoin bandwagon, and that will almost certainly have quite an effect on crypto markets, when and if it happens.