Bitcoin Forum

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SEC Form 19b-4 - is a form that is used to inform the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of a proposed rule change by a self-regulatory organization (SRO) pursuant to Rule 19b-4 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.^{More Info (https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/sec-form-19b-4.asp)}

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PS: I decided to create a list of current Bitcoin ETFs filed on SEC after I saw a good market sentiment for Bitcoin. This ETFs can can help to sustain Bitcoin price growth once approved in the future^{(My opinion)}. You are free  to comment below the updates, error and your opinions about the effect of ETFs approval.  

Excellent! Thank you for all your efforts in creating this list. I am surprised to see the list of physically backed ETFs but unfortunately none of them are approved till date which is a matter of concern. Because only these type of ETFs have the power to drive the bitcoin market to another level. Derivatives bases ETFs makes little sense because it won't drive any demand in the market.

Does SEC have any issues with physically backed ETFs? Even in 2020, they had rejected quite a few physically backed ETFs.

Please keep this list up to date as and when information pours in.

Why are you surprised by the fact that no ETF has yet been approved in the US, no matter what type it is? There is a time for everything, and the SEC believes that the time has not yet come for this form of trading - for reasons that have already been listed countless times in dozens of threads on this topic.


Obviously, they have problems with any type of crypto ETF, which is why they haven’t approved any yet - isn’t that self-explanatory? If you are interested in the exact reasons why a crypto ETF was rejected, simply read what the SEC wrote in its reasoning.

Here is something direct from the SEC Commissioner about the reasons and opinions when it comes to the BTC ETF ->

SEC Commissioner Explains Why A Delayed Bitcoin ETF Has Consequences (https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevenehrlich/2021/03/29/sec-commissioner-explains-why-a-delayed-bitcoin-etf-has-consequences/?sh=270cc7d356ea)

If Physically Backed ETF will be approved, will the current Bitcoin price volatility will gonna lessen? Sec will surely monitor and implement guideline to address issue before they start approving this ETF filing because they will ensure that this is safe for consumer investment. I'm not knowledgeable enough on how ETF so maybe there's a flaw on my opinion.

It will probably decrease volatility, but only to a certain extent(I'm guessing the difference wouldn't even be noticeable, as it's going to take a good amount of time to have a noticeable effect). Most of the time more market liquidity means less volatility, but let's not forget that Bitcoin(and cryptocurrencies in general) is still an asset class that will be heavily heavily influenced by news and such.

I know for sure that there are some ETF filings especially in the SEC but I am surprised that there are actually a lot and so far not a single entity got the final nod or approval of the agency. I surmised that the biggest reason for this non-action is the fact that the regulatory framework for cryptocurrency is not that yet established. That famous infrastructure Bill included the cryptocurrency industry for the sake of getting more taxed and it is not well-studied...let's hope that there will be a more comprehensive bill dedicated to this expanding industry so as to clear confusion and ignorance.

This is from the Bloomberg Intelligence data analysis. They compile all the recordings from SEC about the status of all Bitcoin ETF file, The update on the list will be our duty now by checking all the SEC update on each of them. This will be a hard work especially if you are not familiar with filing system on SEC. I hope everyone will cooperate and help me to gather all data needed so that everyone will be updated on what's going on this process of Bitcoin being fully regulated.

If I'm not mistaken, the whole procedure can take up to 240 days when the SEC has a deadline to publish the final decision, and we have the final date for each of the applications with 19b-4. Accordingly, I think we should focus on that deadline, because it is the only important thing - but another important thing is that very few really believe that the SEC will accept any request if we take into account everything that is currently happening in the US regarding cryptocurrency.

VanEck and ProShares withraw there proposal of ETF futures for Ethereum just 2 days after filing them is this a coincidence or somethings wrong about ETH which results for backing out of these 2 company?

https://talkimg.com/images/2023/09/20/6gH3W.jpeg



Source: https://www.coindesk.com/vaneck-proshares-abruptly-withdraw-ether-futures-etf-proposals

It's a bit strange for someone to make such a move, but obviously, there are some truths in the article you linked to - because there is speculation that the reason for giving up in such a short time came precisely because the SEC suggested so. Although it’s a little weird that both companies didn’t have that information before submitting the application.


My opinion goes in the direction that there has been some confrontation between the BTC ETF application and this one regarding ETH - maybe this is a kind of signal that the SEC is still considering a positive decision regarding the first BTC ETF.

I recently read this article and they might have a point. Withdrawing the ETF right after there file it is just wasting of resources unless they will gain something from doing it. VanEck and ProShares is a pretty solid and in fact the most close to reality for ETF filing to be approve. I'm really excited on what will the impact when this Big news came true. I'm sure that a lot more ETF fling will start to get go signal after that.

It has been speculated that publishing such news (when it comes to US-based BTC ETFs) would be something that would significantly affect the price of Bitcoin - although I’m not sure if the effect would be the same given whether the accepted ETF is physically or derivates based. The first makes a big difference because it is backed with the actual BTC that the company has to buy on the market, and the second is of course different from that because it allows investing in BTC without the company investing in it at all.

Yet some influential people from the crypto community don’t think the BTC ETF is a good idea, and among them is @theymos who made an interesting comment on what Andreas Antonopolous posted about it. Although it should be borne in mind that this is an opinion given 3 years ago, so I leave the possibility that today they may think differently.


Andreas Antonopolous: ETF's are NOT good for bitcoin as the centralized custodian can decide what to do with the bitcoin they're holding. (https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/97xa5s/andreas_antonopolous_etfs_are_not_good_for/)

ETF will need many time to be approved and I remember in 2017 and 2018, the market was attacked by many FUDs with ETF disapproval.

I know ETFs when get approved will be good news for the market and it will bring more users, more capital into crypto market. Good for long term but in the meantime, social media will be changed between positive and negative with ETF news.

Gold has good growth after the first Gold ETF and I think crypto market will have same growth with approval ETFs.

an ETF is not the same market as the bitcoin market.
the bitcoin market can and will change with ETF precent

what you will find is that for every bitcoin it will represent as say 10000 shares of an ETF

meaning if the price changes from $49k-$51k on the bitcoin market
it will only appear as a $4.90-$5.10 change on the ETF share market
something they can handle

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as for what to expect when the first ETF is approved
well two things
if that approved ETF has not bought large yields of bitcoins to custodian-ise. they will.
also the other companies will see the approved ETF application and use it as a template for how they set their business. afterall why confuse regulators. just copy and paste the approved one. and boom. next one gets approved as its the same thing(pretty much an auto accept)

you will see a few ETF jump in in quick succession offering the same proposal and needing to then grab up lots of bitcoin to fill their custody trusts.

so the bitcoin exchanges will see a jump in price with large yield coin buy-ups

The SEC is known for moving slowly with new things.
For all the people complaining about the ETF approval speed think back to the 1990s when self directed online brokerages were becoming a thing.
Some of the hurdles that some companies went thorough were insane. And since the internet and internet security were new they were demanding a lot.
Now, it's a well known process that although not easy or simple is at least known. So you can submit in a way that works.

I am 99% sure it's the same here. If this entire ETF thing goes to shit, then the SEC has the 'we did what we could' defense when the people who approved it get hauled before congress to explain what happened.

-Dave

Invesco/Galaxy just filed for a physically backed Bitcoin ETF.

Source: https://twitter.com/JSeyff/status/1440426226728853505


I will update the table tomorrow.

The approval of cryptocurrency ETFs in the USA by the SEC. Could coincide with deployment of the taproot amendment to bitcoin core, if they are approved near october 2021 as some claim. That's the most interesting aspect to recent rumors of the SEC taking a more open stance towards crypto ETFs. Along with possibly mounting pressure on regulators from an increasing number of crypto whales to grant ETFs a green light.

Other countries have used and enjoyed crypto ETFs for years now. While americans have always been barred from enjoying similar options. Its ironic how the "land of the free" offering far fewer financial freedoms and opportunities in contrast to foreign lands has become entirely normalized. Aside from the 2nd amendment and gun ownership, a case could be made for us having the fewest (financial) freedoms in the entire world.

As the amount of fiat increases that goes into bitcoin, it will help reduce volatility because as the market increases, the amount of bitcoin or fiat that is required to move the market will increase also. 

The SEC always claims to be about protecting investors, but in reality they are more of a CYA entity.  How else could they miss Bernie Madoff for decades?  How else could they miss Stanford Financial?  They talk a good game, but are really more reactive than proactive.  I hope they approve one, but if the last ~8 years is any guide, it will be only when they are dragged kicking and screaming to do it.

An ETF is a financial product that was created in 1993 in the US when Nathan Most and Steven Bloom jointly developed the S&P SPDR Deposit Receipts index.
ETFs are not the same market as the bitcoin market.
The SEC always claims to protect investors, but in reality they are more like a CYA entity. They talk about a good game, but really more reactive than proactive.
Some of the hurdles that some companies have overcome are insane. And since internet and internet security are new, they have asked for a lot. Now, it's a well-known process that at least one is aware of though not easy or simple. So you can send in an efficient way.
ETF is one of the important products, creating value for investors in recent years. In particular, if used wisely, ETFs become a product that brings great value to investors.

SEC delays again the result of 4 Bitcoin ETF for another 60 days. List of the following ETF below:

• Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF
• WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust
• Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund
• Global X Bitcoin Trust

Maybe this is the reason why Bitcoin is pumping hard. Another room for possible hype before the result of approval on ETF application. Whales well played on this part.

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/sec-stalls-again-four-bitcoin-194923376.html

That’s a bit of a shame but the timing better matches up with the expected peak of Bitcoin this cycle anyway. Before this news I expected we’d see an ETF approval in the next two weeks. Now it’s looking like we’ll be waiting until the end of November instead. In any event, it should be a good Christmas this year.

There's a high probability that they will really approve some this ETF because they can just reject it if they are still not happy about it but they move the approval date and some of the member of SEC giving a positive statement about there stand in cryptocurrency ruling, This delay is a blessings in disguise by SEC and we might see a legit 6 digit price this Christmas. FOMO will start once Bitcoin hits again 60K mark. 

I personally doubt that probability is high, because as I wrote recently, the SEC is very tough in its stance on Bitcoin in terms of approving ETF. In general, nothing has changed when it comes to Bitcoin (except the price), which means that the SEC still does not want to give the green light to something that is "largely unregulated" according to them.


It is not a matter of any delay resulting from the SEC expressing any doubts about its decision - it is a matter of respecting legal deadlines and procedures. As far as I know, the final decision is made after 240 days, and it is preceded by two more deadlines in which the SEC can (and does not have) make a decision or extend everything to the next deadline.

@Lucius, Fair enough.  :)

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OT, SEC approved an ETF for company that holding large amount Bitcoin on there balance sheet, This ETF includes 30 company and some of it are Tesla, Twitter, PayPal and many more. It's funny that the ETF for huge company approves faster than Bitcoin ETF that been pending for a couple of years.

Source: https://decrypt.co/82864/sec-bitcoin-etf-volt-tesla

@Coin_trader, thanks for the interesting information, things seem to be starting to move in a positive direction, and such SEC decisions give even more hope to those eagerly awaiting the BTC ETF. It is also now more than clear that in the event of a positive decision, this ETF will be based on futures, which is again a step forward - but the question is whether such an ETF will have a significant impact on the crypto market, because everyone is hoping for a physically-backed ETF.

I would not say that there is anything strange or ridiculous in the fact that such an ETF is approved, because it is something completely different from what the SEC has persistently refused for years.

SEC Chair Gensler: A Ban on Crypto Would Be ‘Up to Congress’ (https://www.coindesk.com/policy/2021/10/05/sec-chair-gensler-a-ban-on-crypto-would-be-up-to-congress/)

Finally it was spoken that SEC is not in charge to ban crypto that is up to the Congress. It is a misleading statement because if the Congress want to ban crypto, there will be turned into real implementation via SEC.

If the crypto market can have the first Bitcoin ETF, it will give the market a very positive sentiment. People who are only observing and hesitating to invest in Bitcoin will make their decisions to be in. A new FOMO wave will occur.

In 2017, the market has first future exchanges: CBOE and CME.
In 2017, will the market has first Bitcoin ETF?

One more  crypto company has jumped into ETF race. This time it is crypo lender  BlockFi  that is  seeking to launch ETF in USA. (https://u.today/blockfi-jumps-into-bitcoin-etf-race) If the SEC approves this application then "the total value of the bitcoin to which the fund has economic exposure is equal to approximately 100% of the net assets of the fund." I think such an approval  would be a good news for customers of the  US lending industry.

Some details from BlockFi profile:

https://craft.co/blockfi

SEC will approve as long as its not a direct Bitcoin ETF since there's no clear regulation for that. A crypto company ETF is more acceptable for them since there's a firm regulation for ETF for company. This crypto company ETF list might increase in the following months when the ongoing Bitcoin ETF will be disapproved.

I think it's going to be more of a question of how many ETFs will it take till it really gets moving.
As more come to be able to be bought more people will get in, as more people get in even more will be bought.
The 1st few, although important may not move the price in an large way until there is 'critical mass'.
What the number is to active critical mass, I have no idea.

-Dave

Bloomberg (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-10-15/bitcoin-futures-etf-said-not-to-face-sec-opposition-at-deadline?sref=AACmJ2tc) reported about  SEC decision to set soon (reportedly next week)  the  approval of ProShares ETF pertaining to bitcoin. Another relevant  filling  to be approved is an  Invesco one. This will be followed by  Valkyrie, VanEck, Galaxy, etc..Following this news BTC price has touched $60 K on some exchanges, particularly on Binance . I'm watching KuCoin right now where some bots are trying to push the price back. Let's see what will  happen...

The first approval will cause a domino effect. Four years ago, in 2017 we did not have any exchange with Bitcoin Futures but in December 2017, we had two exchanges: CBOE and CME.

Now only CME is still providing Bitcoin Futures but they are pioneers for Bitcoin Futures and today we have many crypto exchanges with Bitcoin Futures.

Next four years, we will see Bitcoin ETF is something normal after the first Bitcoin ETF approval this year, if SEC approves it.

But can't see a Futures based ETF getting many investors - as Futures Roll is so expensive going to track BTC price less 12-15% a year (or worse if holds large proportion of open interest). Very expensive when compared to a physical ETF that can easily have less than 1% costs.

See:
https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5365787.0
for logic.

Not approved, but also not banned, in other words,   ProShares application is in limbo. "Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities .... Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense." (https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/1174610/000168386321006052/f10028d1.htm) So arguing otherwise, you are now a criminal.  ;D

The media has already called this state of affairs a tacit agreement, although in my opinion  SEC will  keep  them on a short leash - step to the right, step to the left and  the summary execution on the spot.

There ETF was already sold out to the public since October 18. I can't fully verified what you are talking about since your reference is there Form N-1A and it was use for  a new open-end mutual funds for there opening on 18.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/19/first-bitcoin-futures-etf-rises-2percent-in-trading-debut.html

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VanEck has also been approved to launch Bitcoin futures ETF to trade next week

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has likely approved asset manager VanEck’s Bitcoin Strategy exchange-traded fund (ETF), with trading expected to begin on Monday.


Link : https://cointelegraph.com/news/vaneck-bitcoin-strategy-etf-will-likely-launch-next-week-as-crypto-prices-reach-aths

They might be an ETF fee war once Van Eck Strategy approved probably today, They are offering much cheaper fee compared to it's competitor after the negative result on Valkyrie ETF opening last week.
Maybe we might see much cheaper ETF fee in the future, The current fee for all existing Bitcoint Futures ETF is insanely high IMHO.


Reference: https://www.ft.com/content/26893da4-7dcb-47d2-b6a8-6170a64dfbd0

Competition is always good for every user, because a number of the same services on the market must compete to gain as many customers as possible, and they can only do so if they offer lower prices. I was quite surprised when I read how unfavorable this futures-based ETF actually is - and that may explain why the price of BTC drop after the media successfully sold the news and a new ATH was reached.

I guess people have very negative connotations when it comes to futures trading, obviously they remember the end of 2017 and CME futures.

Probably since physically backed is far different from futures ETF, Futures ETF has a lot of downside for passive investor due to time limit involved on contracts. Not all investors don't want a complex trading with expiration of contract and insane fee. I would rather used exchange like Coinbase Pro than purchasing a very expensive futures ETF which really don't give ownership to real Bitcoin.

SEC is still undecided about the fate of physically backed bittcoin due to a lot of fraud and volatility happening on crypto space. It might backfire to them once somethings terrible happened to crypto and lots of investors loss funds on purchasing ETF. I think next year is the closest date for these ETF.

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I read this on bybit newsletter, I think this is the reason.

Well SEC seems not really prepared for this, They just want to approved some of the ETF to have a trial and observe the effect out of it. Bitcoin price moves up and down with a huge spread, I think this volatility cause by the ETF makes the SEC rethink and evaluate first on what will be the effect in the future if they still proceed on widening the acceptance of Bitcoin ETF. Me myself is actually not happy on the result. Whales is playing the market and enjoying the benefits of pump and dump due to speculation and manipulative media just to control retail tradrers decision on holding Bitcoin. Seeing Bitcoin trading below it's ATH for a week makes me scared that something big correction is inevitable since ETF hype was already and we can't expect more this year base on this recent rejection.

I think the number of futures-based ETFs is something that will not make a significant difference in the crypto market, so their number may only be important because of competitiveness (lower fees). However, according to what can be read in the US media, a physically-based ETF could become a reality next year, maybe even in the first half of next year.

Now the only question is, will such an ETF really have an effect that will cause the price of BTC to skyrocket, or have our expectations been exaggerated all these years?

If they are really going to buy and hold then it will cause the price to rise. Skyrocket? Probably not since we are already at $60K+BTC /  $1Trillion dollar market cap. So more of a long slow climb. But, I really think if it happens we could see a lot of investors who wanted to get into BTC but not "buy" any invest here.

Just my view.

-Dave

A related change move with a reaction would be ETF GrayScale, 19b-4 still in the spotlight.  And December 24 will probably be the stop at a Christmas day this year.  If I ignore the divergence factors, this is the period that will be strongest with the change in bitcoin value. ;D
 https://twitter.com/EtfHearsay/status/1456009527963312130 (https://twitter.com/EtfHearsay/status/1456009527963312130)

It certainly can't hurt that 2 US congressmen are pushing for the approval of a physically-backed BTC ETF, but these are just two of the 535 votes in the US Congress - and believe me, there are those who are against Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general. As for these two congressmen, they both come from federal states that are quite friendly towards Bitcoin (Minnesota (https://minnfintech.medium.com/bitcoin-and-blockchains-in-minnesota-63b2eb22d536) & Florida (https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/consumers/cryptocurrency/)), so their attitude is somewhat expected.

SEC Rejects VanEck’s Spot Bitcoin ETF Proposal  as predicted on my previous post since Spot ETF is a direct interaction to Bitcoin which is very crucial due to its volatility that will reflect on the consumer safety on buying this ETF. SEC Chair also imposed his preference for futures ETF instead of spot. In conclusion we still need more years for this long waited approval. I hope this will not gonna impact much on the current price of Bitcoin.

There's some bad news too that Bakkt shares loss value after there release of there third quarter loss report. One hell of ride again if this becomes a series of FUD.

I don’t think we’ll have to wait for such an ETF until the end of 2024 or even 2025, it’s too long considering how much interest there is from quite powerful companies lobbying for it to happen as soon as possible. The fact is that such ETFs have been approved in some other countries (Canada), and that the SEC is certainly following what is happening there - and I am sure it will not delay its decision for years.


There are various stupid opinions when it comes to Bitcoin, and I know it is very stupid to use the word “never” in the same sentence with Bitcoin - scientifically proven from 2009 until today :)

The SEC rejected WisdomTree's application to create a spot Bitcoin ETF, saying in a letter that it did not meet criteria “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative actions and practices” and “to protect investors and the public interest”.  https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboebzx/2021/34-93700.pdf

source: https://decrypt.co/87477/sec-wisdomtree-application-bitcoin-etf-rejection

It seems that the metaverse has reached the ETF and an application has been submitted to the SEC from ProShares to launch the ProShares Metaverse Theme ETF, which includes companies providing or using technologies related to their products and services with metaverses, such as Apple, Meta Platforms and Nvidia.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-28/metaverse-etf-appetite-continues-as-proshares-files-application
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1174610/000168386321007439/f10626d1.htm

The SEC postponed a decision on the applications of two spot bitcoin ETFs from WisdomTree and One River on April 4 and June 2, respectively, as it "considers it appropriate to appoint a longer period for taking action on the proposed rule hange".

decision on the WisdomTree application: https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboebzx/2022/34-94476.pdf
decision on the One River application: https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2022/34-94475.pdf

I think these decisions are in line with the expectations of those who are realistic about the physically-based BTC ETF. This is simply something we will have to wait a little longer for, because the SEC will simply not allow itself to approve such an instrument until they are 100% sure that they will be able to implement all possible mechanisms to prevent market manipulation.

Although I don't know if such a thing is possible at all, because who can prevent the volatility that has become one of the trademarks associated with Bitcoin. If I had to bet on a date, then I would say that Q4 2024 is the ideal period for approval - halving + ETF = big bang :D

The SEC approved an application to launch a bitcoin futures ETF from Teucrium Trading (Teucrium filed an application to launch a bitcoin futures ETF in May 2021), listing of the financial instrument is planned on NYSE Arca.

https://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2022/34-94620.pdf

they can explain.. but they dont want to reveal the secret.. so i shall
they want their wall street buddy institutions to be the 'first mover' and first ETF offering. thus they have initial monopoly and can set the trends and the direction all  other ETF services after them have to follow. they dont want small unknown business becoming the defacto #1.

..
to explain.
to offer it to a small business means small licence fee income. and small commissions on audit inspections.. however if a large institution started they can get large licence fees and charge more for audits and inspections. also it sets precedent's for the calibre or level all next issuers should follow.
having a large institution start the ball rolling brings instant utility and offering to many many customers meaning the markets do respond.

EG take the australian markets which some small unknown company offers something that resembles an ETF.. yet hardly anyone uses the australian markets so no one cares..
without you googling it. i bet you couldnt from memory tell me much about the australian example i hint at.. because no one cares to research/invest in it..
however a large institution on the US main big market. is a whole different story