October has been a busy month in the race to register the first crypto exchange-traded fund compliant with the requirements of United States regulators. Following the Chicago Board Options Exchange withdrawing its proposal for VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin ETF earlier in September, the ETF filing from Bitwise Asset Management and NYSE Arca was turned down by the Securities and Exchange Commission on Oct. 9. The regulatory authority remained unconvinced of the applicants’ ability to prevent manipulative practices to the extent required by a national securities exchange.
For a brief moment, the only standing Bitcoin ETF application has been a bid by the investment management firm Wilshire Phoenix — a proposal that its sponsors amended in early October to include updated custody rules. It wasn’t too long, however, before a new contender entered the race.