Bitwise crypto ETF returning for another SEC review

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking another look at a cryptocurrency exchange traded fund (ETF) it rejected just a month ago. The regulator had indicated that the ETF application by Bitwise Asset Management had not met its guidelines. However, in a turn of events, the SEC has revealed that its five commissioners will review the application.

As CoinGeek reported in October, the watchdog indicated that the application failed to meet its guidelines concerning illicit activities and market manipulation. However, a notice dated November 12 revealed that the SEC would review Division of Trading Markets’ action pursuant to delegated authority. It was the Division that had issued an order rejecting the ETF application.

Bitwise was quick to point out that it hadn’t been in any way involved in the decision to review the application. In an email to CoinDesk, the company’s global head of research added that, “We do, however, welcome the opportunity to submit comments and continue the dialogue with the SEC.”

The review allows any member of the public who would wish to submit their participation to the regulator to do so before December 18, 2019. In the meantime, the order issued last month rejecting the ETF application remains in effect. Unlike with the normal application, the SEC is under no timeline when doing a review and it could decide to hold off for several months as the commissioners consider all the implications that a crypto ETF could have on the financial markets.

The Bitwise ETF application has dragged on for several months now. In May this year, the commission revealed that it was holding off on the ETF application, inviting public participation on the same. This was despite the fact that it had been deliberating on it for over a year prior to the announcement. The regulator has long voiced its concerns that the crypto market doesn’t have in place enough mechanisms to ensure fair play and smoke out any illegal activities including market manipulation.