Back in January, California-based crypto startup Bitwise announced its plans to launch a new Bitcoin ETF that would deal with major regulatory pain points that prevented previous contenders to get approval from the SEC. Now, the countdown has begun, and the SEC has to voice its verdict.
The clock is ticking!
According to a report, the Bitcoin ETF rule change proposal appeared in the Federal Register on Feb. 15. Now, the SEC has 45 days in order to review it and reveal its final decision. The filing was supposed to be published earlier, but the longest government shutdown in history caused a significant delay. Notably, Bitwise’s ETF has a better chance of getting the green light from the US regulatory watchdog since it will have regulated custodians storing physical BTC.
Failed and pending proposals
As U.Today reported earlier, the Winklevoss twins tried to launch a Bitcoin ETF, but the SEC’s rejection served a major blow to the cryptocurrency industry. Van Eck and SolidX, the two New York-based firms that made a joint effort to launch a crypto ETF, are currently waiting for the SEC’s final decision, which is set to be announced not later than on Feb. 27.
SEC commissioner Hester Peirce (better known as ‘Crypto Mom’ in the crypto community) earlier claimed that the much-anticipated Bitcoin ETF approval could take years.
