SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Rejected By The SEC: Report

Skybridge Bitcoin ETF got rejected by the SEC and it is the latest blow to the true ETF hopefuls but let’s find out the reason in our latest Bitcoin news.

The SEC rejected an application for a spot market Bitcoin ETF from First Trust Advisors and SkyBridge. First Advisors and SkyBridge Capital’s application was filed in May 2021 and the two investment firms teamed up to try and get the ETF approved by the regulator. However, the SEC said the ETFs didn’t meet the requirement that the rules of national securities exchange are designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to also protect the investors and the public interest.

Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci who runs SkyBridge Capital said that he was hopeful that the SEC will approve a BTC ETF by the end of 2021. He noted:

“I’m hoping that with the introduction of Gary Gensler now into the regulatory rubric, and my understanding of where he’s coming from, although I don’t know it personally, is that possibly we can get an ETF in place by the end of the year.”

But the Bitcoin ETF doesn’t exist in the US yet because the SEC is reluctant to approve one citing concerns over price manipulation in crypto markets. The ETF is an investment product that allows investors to buy shares that represent assets like gold. With an ETF, the investors don’t deal with assets themselves and in this case, a Bitcoin ETF will let investors invest in crypto without having to deal with things such as storage of the digital asset.

The option to gain exposure to BTC via an ETF doesn’t exist for traditional investors but in October last year, the SEC allowed the first Bitcoin Futures ETF to start trading but these products were met with a lot of enthusiasm at first from the investors. The trading volume for BTC futures ETFs waned ever since along with the rest of the market as the prices for BTC, ETH, and other coins dropped dramatically. The futures ETFs are different from spot markets as their share represents contracts that bet on the future price of BTC and not the asset so the trading of these derivative products is regulated by the CFTC.