The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected the Wilshire Phoenix bid for a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund. This was the last active bid for a Bitcoin ETF pending with the SEC.
The Commission concluded that the firm was unable to prove that Bitcoin was sufficiently protected from market manipulation.
“The Commission concludes that NYSE Arca has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), and, in particular, the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be ‘designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices’ and ‘to protect investors and the public interest,” the SEC statement said.
The SEC used the same argumentation as with rejecting the Bitwise Asset Management application.
SEC Special Commissioner Hester Piers, known as “crypto mom” due to her friendly attitude to Bitcoin, commented on the decision of the Commission.
“This line of disapprovals leads me to conclude that this Commission is unwilling to approve the listing of any product that would provide access to the market for bitcoin and that no filing will meet the ever-shifting standards that this Commission insists on applying to bitcoin-related products—and only to bitcoin-related products,” she wrote.
The SEC postponed the decision on the application of Wilshire Phoenix several times. The application was also adjusted several times, in particular, the company wanted to provide the fund not only with bitcoins but also with treasury bonds.