SEC Rejects Last Bitcoin ETF Application

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rejected an application to launch an exchange-traded fund onBitcoin based on Wilshire Phoenix. This was the last active application to launch a Bitcoin ETF pending with the SEC.

The ministry said the firm was unable to prove that Bitcoin was sufficiently protected from market manipulation.

“The Commission should reject the proposed changerules filed by the exchange because it did not find that it complied with the requirements of the Exchange Act, including the requirement of Section 6(b)(5). The rules of national securities exchanges must prevent fraud and manipulation,” —the SEC said in a statement.

The Commission used the same argument as a reason for rejecting the Bitwise Asset Management application.

SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce, often referred to as «Crypto Mom» due to her Bitcoin-friendly attitude.

«The Commission does not want to approve any productwhich will provide access to the Bitcoin market. And no application will meet the ever-changing standards that the Commission makes mandatory only for Bitcoin-related products,” —she wrote.

Recall that the SEC postponed the decision several timesby request of Wilshire Phoenix. The company itself made adjustments to it, according to which, the fund had to be provided not only with bitcoin, but also with treasury bonds.