Cboe rescinds Bitcoin ETF proposal amid U.S. government shutdown

Central Board Options Exchange [Cboe] has withdrawn its request for a Bitcoin ETF. The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission [SEC] deputy secretary Eduardo Aleman wrote that the Cboe had withdrawn the proposed rule change that would enable VanEck and SolidX list Bitcoin shares, according to a notice published by the SEC. The SEC ‘s approval is to list the Bitcoin shares on the Cboe’s BZX exchange.

The Cboe Bitcoin ETF which targets institutional investors has become very popular in the crypto community. The proposed rule change was filed with the SEC on June 20, 2018. The Bitcoin ETF proposal drove a bullish revival in the market. Bitcoin prices soared, however, the upswing was short-lived.

Jan VanEck, the VanEck CEO said that it was prepared to answer the SEC’s questions. However, a government shutdown is underway in the U.S. which means that the company will have to wait to make its case. “We were trying to do that but we obviously can’t have meetings when they’re shut down. Instead of trying to slip through or something, we just had the application pulled,” said VanEck in an interview with CNBC.

Cboe Bitcoin ETF targets institutional investors with a share price allotment of 25 BTC. The ETF will supposedly bring high liquidity and lower exchange fees. Winklevoss twins also tried dipping their toes into the Bitcoin ETF playfield. The first Bitcoin ETF by the Bitcoin billionaire twins was rejected by the SEC in March 2017 on the grounds of “fraudulent and manipulative acts”. A second Winklevoss ETF proposal which was aimed at retail investors was rejected citing concerns of investor protection.

SEC is yet to approve any cryptocurrency-based ETF proposals. The SEC has rejected over 10 Bitcoin ETF proposals mainly citing concerns about fraud and investor protection. Many opine that Bitcoin ETF approval will bring about a bullish uprising in the crypto market.

Image via Shutterstock