Cboe applies once more for crypto ETF

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With the partial government shutdown declared over, the Cboe BZX Exchange is again applying for the listing of a cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF).

It was just last week that the Cboe withdrew its request for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve the VanEck SolidX BTC fund. Van Eck founder and CEO Jan Van Eck explained that his group had been unable to meet with SEC officials to make their case, due to the closure of some federal offices as part of the shutdown, which ended without lawmakers agreeing to fund a US-Mexico border wall.

The commission was originally set to rule on the VanEck SolidX ETF by February 27, but with a new application, the deadline is reset for 240 days at the most upon its publication at the Federal Register.

VanEck digital asset strategist Gabor Gurbacs tweeted about the refiling, which was posted on the Cboe website.

The VanEck SolidX Bitcoin ETF proposed rule-change has been submitted by CBOE. Hard work by all teams involved. Public document: https://t.co/X25lOPjiFS pic.twitter.com/C9FP4adDE8

— Gabor Gurbacs (@gaborgurbacs) January 31, 2019

The application read, “The Commission’s approval of this or any proposal to list and trade an ETP [exchange-traded product] is not an endorsement of the underlying asset and especially is not a guarantee against the ETP being an extremely risky and/or volatile investment. Rather, it signifies that the benefits to end investors that want exposure to a particular asset class from having a regulated and transparent U.S. exchange traded vehicle outweigh the applicable risk of manipulation.”

SEC Chairman Jay Clayton has expressed hesitance to approve an ETF, whose prices would be based on cryptocurrency markets, saying that such markets needed to have similar monitoring mechanisms as those for more traditional investments.

However, VanEck and SolidX have argued that the cryptocurrency markets have matured enough, where the possibility of manipulation is no greater than in other markets on which ETPs are based.

The SEC has rejected ETF applications before, but then stayed several of its orders last August a day after issuing them. It has since called for public input on the matter, before making a decision.

Only commissioner Hester Peirce has been vocal in endorsing the approval of a cryptocurrency ETF, saying investors should have access to a range of products and be able to weigh the risks of each.