The Cboe BZX Exchange has withdrawn their bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal, backed by VanEck and SolidX. Filed in last June, VanEck, an investment firm, teamed up with financial services provider SolidX to provide a physically-backed bitcoin ETF to the market.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published a notice on Wednesday, stating that Cboe BZX Exchange has pulled their proposed rule change, that if approved would have allowed it to list shares of the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust. The withdrawal was filed on Jan.22. by the exchange.
The SEC has delayed their decision on the proposal a number of times, asking for public comment and taking meetings with proponents. The regulator was about to give their final decision deadline of Feb. 27.
The reason for the withdrawal wasn’t mentioned and some securities lawyers speculate that the ongoing government shutdown could attribute in the ETF being denied. As no staffers at the SEC are able to review the proposed rule change.
In an email, VanEck director of digital asset strategy Gabor Gurbacs told CoinDesk that the filing “has been temporarily withdrawn.”
“We are actively working with regulators and major market participants to build appropriate market structure frameworks for a Bitcoin ETF and digital assets in general.”
Jan van Eck, CEO of VanEck told CNBC that the proposal was being withdrawn and would be submitted at a later date following continued discussions with the SEC.
“We were engaged in discussions with the SEC about the bitcoin-related issues, custody, market manipulation, prices, and that had to stop. And so, instead of trying to slip through or something, we just had the application pulled and we will re-file when the SEC gets going again.”