SEC Douses Hopes Of Spot Bitcoin ETF In 2023, Delays Decision On Multiple Applications

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has doused the cryptocurrency market's hope of seeing a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) this year as it deferred a decision on multiple filings, The move suggests that the financial regulator could release its approval or rejection of the applications on its final deadline next year.

Bitcoin surged to an 18-month high last week, trading above the $37,000 price level, as industry analysts revealed the commission has an eight-day window to approve all spot BTC ETF applications, which investors took as a bullish sign in the hope that the investment product could be imminent.

However, that window has closed and the highly awaited crypto vehicle has not yet been approved by the major Wall Street regulator.

Instead of announcing good news, the SEC deferred making a decision on multiple spot Bitcoin ETF applications, including that of Franklin Templeton, Hashdex and GlobalX. The SEC said it needs more time because it has to consider the proposed rule change and other issues. The next deadline is Jan. 1, 2024.

"The commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised therein. Accordingly, the commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, designates January 1, 2024, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change," the commission said in its notice.

Multiple Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Fidelity filed their spot Bitcoin ETF applications this year, which raised hope within the crypto community that the regulator's approval will pave the way for investments to flow into the nascent industry.

The first Bitcoin ETF application was submitted 10 years ago. However, the commission has been reluctant to approve such applications since it is worried about potential market manipulations.

Asset management giant BlackRock stirred the crypto market this month after it filed for spot Bitcoin ETF and spot Ether ETF with the SEC. The filing, which sent the price of Ether (ETH) to new highs, was mimicked by Fidelity Investment last week.

Bitcoin, the world's largest crypto asset by market capitalization, was trading in the green zone at $37,136.93 in the early hours of Monday, with a 24-hour trading volume up by 23.61% at $14,224,116,214. Bitcoin's price action represented a 1.16% gain over the past 24 hours and a 0.6% gain over the last seven days.

Data from CoinMarketCap revealed that Bitcoin's circulating supply stands at 19,547,406 BTC and its value climbing by 1.6% at a $726,207,767,318 market cap.