The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) early delay of the ARK 21Shares Spot Bitcoin ETF The application has raised concerns within the crypto community about what this move could mean for the potential launch of a Spot Bitcoin ETF this year.
No Spot Bitcoin ETF this year?
In a tweet Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart, shared on his X platform (formerly Twitter), questioned the SEC’s latest decision and whether or not it could undermine hopes for an ETF approval this year. He further wondered if this means we could see an impending delay on some other Spot Bitcoin ETF filings with a deadline in October.
On September 26, the SEC extended the time to rule on Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest ETF application until January 10, 2024 (the final deadline). However, it is worrying that the Commission had until November 11 (approximately 46 days to go) to make this decision, yet chose to do so so early. The SEC typically makes such a decision only a few days (and not weeks) before the deadline.
Seyfarrt showed less optimism in a subsequent period tweet when he said, ‘It’ll be over soon. Everyone can now pack up and go home.” indicating that he had probably lost hope that a Spot Bitcoin ETF would be launched this year.
It’ll be over soon. Everyone can now pack up and go home. https://t.co/wBsTHXCuEs
— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) September 26, 2023
His statements are more important considering that he, along with another Bloomberg analyst, Eric Balchunas, had raised the odds against a Spot Bitcoin ETF. launch this year up to 75% as a sequel to Grayscale’s victory against the SEC in August.
Amid all these delays, the SEC is yet to issue a statement on Grayscale’s filing as the court had ordered the Commission to reconsider the filing. Many expect the Commission to appeal the decision, with a deadline of 1.5 years appeal comes in October.
Plausible reasons for the SEC’s early delay
Many in the crypto community, including Seyffart, had two main theories as to why the SEC decided early on the ARK 21Shares Spot Bitcoin ETF filing. First, they attributed this to the potential government shutdown looming.
It is expected that the SEC will be affected if the US government services were to close on October 1. The Commission will have to do that Lay off 90% of the workforce and shut down most of its activities. However, this seems far-fetched as November 11 seems far away and government activities will have resumed by then.
The second major theory was that the letter that Congress sent to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler might have struck the wrong nerves, prompting the Commission to make such a decision.
In the letter, the members of Congress urged the Commission to approve the pending Spot Bitcoin ETFs following the court’s decision in the Grayscale case, stating that the SEC’s “current posture is untenable going forward is.”
BTC price still holding $26,000 despite spot ETF delay | Source: BTCUSD on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from Tradingview.com
