The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has authorized NYSE Arca and Teucrium to issue a Bitcoin futures exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC announced the approval in a filing on its website Wednesday, adding Teucrium to its list of other Bitcoin futures ETF issuers. However, this fund has another feature. Here are the details…
A new confirmation for Bitcoin ETF: Why does it matter?
Specifically, Teucrium and NYSE Arca filed the application by filing a 19b-4 form with the SEC under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Currently approved Bitcoin futures ETFs filed by other companies were covered by the Investment Company Act of 1940, which followed a slightly different regulatory route for approval. Bloomberg analyst James Seyffart said on Twitter earlier this year that an approval under the Securities Act of 1933, under which Teucrium’s application fell, could potentially open the door for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Proponents of crypto ETFs have cited an argument from crypto company Grayscale, which has filed an application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Fund (GBTC) into an ETF. To date, the SEC has not approved any spot Bitcoin ETF applications, citing concerns about market manipulation and the lack of a custody-sharing agreement between an ETF issuer and a major market that trades the underlying asset.
Many companies have applied for ETFs
This has not stopped various companies from trying to bring a Bitcoin ETF to the market. ProShares, Valkyrie, and VanEck are among those approved so far to list and trade Bitcoin futures ETFs in the US, as we reported on Kriptokoin.com. Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is reportedly planning to appoint two commissioners to the SEC with ties to different political parties.
According to a report published Wednesday in the Wall Street Journal, Biden is in agreement with Democrat Jaime Lizárraga, an employee of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and the Senate Banking Committee on securities and capital markets advisor is considering Republican Mark Uyeda to fill the seats left behind by the SEC. While there is no official announcement at this time, time will tell if these appointments will have an impact on ETF approvals…