With much of the financial world fixated on the prospect of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly denied the proposal from Gemini founders Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.
3-1 Against
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has reportedly rejected the first-ever cryptocurrency ETF proposal from Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the famous entrepreneurs behind cryptocurrency exchange Gemini.
The Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust was already denied by the SEC in 2017. However, CNBC now reports that the twins’ recently submitted rule change proposal has also been rejected by the independent agency of the United States federal government — marking yet another loss in the Winklevoss’ quest for an ETF.
The vote was reportedly 3-1.
It remains to be seen how this decision will affect other proposals for a Bitcoin-backed ETC.
According to CNBC, the SEC has cited investor protection as the reason behind its denial of the Winklevoss twins’ ETF, claiming that bitcoin is subject to a concerning amount of fraud and manipulation conducted largely from unregulated offshore markets.
The news also follows the SEC’s delaying of an Arca Inc. filing from January 2018 seeking approval to list and trade shares of five Direxion bitcoin ETFs. Earlier this week, news of the postponement came in a U.S. Government Publishing Office (GPO) post, which read:
The Commission finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider this proposed rule change.
All eyes now remain firmly fixated on the SEC’s upcoming decision regarding the CBOE bitcoin ETF proposal — which one legal expert believes will be delayed into March 2019.
Update 5:39 pm: The price of Bitcoin has reacted to the news, falling more 2 percent over the last hour after holding impressive gains made over the past week. It now appears as though the short-term upside potential is capped for the market leader, though it remains to be seen whether or not the bears will firmly retake control over the next few days.
What do you think about the Winklevoss’ denied proposal? Do you think we will see a bitcoin ETF this year? Let us know in the comments below!
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[Full Disclosure: The contents of this article are not intended as financial advice from both Bitcoinist and the author.]