Why Is The SEC Reconsidering The Winklevoss ETF?

The US Securities and Exchange Commission – SEC – will reconsider its decision to reject the creation of the bitcoin-based Winklevoss ETF. The SEC denied approval for the Winklevoss ETF on March 11st. After the refusal to approve the bitcoin ETF for trade on the Bats BZX exchange, the SEC decided to reconsider this decision. Additionally, the SEC is currently considering an Ethereum ETF too.

BATS Exchange Intervenes in Behalf of the Winklevoss ETF

The BATS exchange launched a petition in behalf of the Winklevoss ETF to have a new review. The SEC approved this petition, and Fortune Magazine announced the SEC’s decision to reconsider. The review will open the door to further comment on this bitcoin ETF by May 15^th:

“Pursuant to Rule 431 of the Rules of Practice,11 BZX’s petition for review of the Disapproval Order is granted. Further, the Commission hereby establishes that any party to the action or other person may file a written statement in support of or in opposition to the Disapproval Order on or before May 15, 2017.”

The SEC Moves Forward with the EtherIndex Ether Trust Review

Apart from reconsidering the Winklevoss ETF, The SEC is also moving ahead with the review of the EtherIndex Ether Trust. The fund hopes to get the approval necessary to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. This Ethereum fund is a quite similar to the Bitcoin ETF, but as far as the underlying asset, Ether is fundamentally different than bitcoin. This might give it a better chance of gaining the approval of the SEC.

The agency in charge of this Ether fund explained the differences between the two cases, in a short statement: “The Exchange represents that unlike bitcoin, ether was not designed to function purely as a store of value. Instead, Ether was meant to pay for specific actions on the Ethereum Network.” However, according to the Exchange, “Ether’s market is currently supported by many of the same online exchanges and the same infrastructure that was developed around the bitcoin network.”

The SEC Reviewing the Ethereum ETF

The SEC declared that “The Commission is instituting proceedings pursuant to Section 19(b)(2)(B) of the Act11 to determine whether the proposed rule change should be approved or disapproved.” Hopefully, the SEC will approve the Ether fund, because the underlying asset is different than that of the Winklevoss ETF. Nevertheless, there is still a chance that the SEC rejects both, given that the markets for both assets are still unregulated. This makes the SEC decision to reconsider the Winklevoss ETF and its willingness to consider any other fund based on cryptocurrency, difficult to understand.