The Securities and Exchange Commission has announced another delay on potential Bitcoin ETF approval.
ETF issuer VanEck and blockchain start-up Solid X partnered for the proposal of the Bitcoin ETF back in July, however the SEC has dismissed previous proposals as well as delaying its response several times already.
The final extension for the SEC's decision can be no longer than 60 days, meaning its verdict will be announced by the end of February next year. The SEC says it needs sufficient time to consider the rule change as it also says it has received in excess of 1,600 comments on the proposal.
There has been significant progression within cryptocurrency and exchange-traded products in the last couple of months. Amun launched the world's first crypto ETP, Amun Crypto Basket Index (HODL), at the end of November, one week before MVIS launched MVIS Bitcoin US OTC Spot Index (MVBTCO), a Bitcoin Index.
The timing of these releases was not ideal as the crypto market faced a damaging bear run with Bitcoin falling to its lowest price of 2018. This time last year, Bitcoin's value was just shy of £15,000 and has now slipped to £2,600.
MVBTCO, an index from a VanEck, which tracks the prices of Bitcoin from three different exchanges has closely followed the fall of Bitcoin. Since early November, the index peaked at $6,500 but has today fallen to $3,600, a decrease of nearly 45 percent.
Source: MVIS
Similarly, HODL - the Switzerland-listed crypto ETP backed by fintech startup Amun - started with a price just over $15 but had a downward trend from the off, correlating with the rest of the market. Whilst the price looked to steady from the beginning of December, yesterday saw the return of the bear as Bitcoin reached a year-long low and HODL's price slips again to just under $11, a 30 percent drop since its launch.
In addition to Bitcoin, HODL tracks the price of Ethereum, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash and Litecoin. All five cryptocurrencies have faced losses in the last 24 hours, ranging from 10-15 per cent.
Source: Six-Group
