Did the Bitcoin ETF Get Postponed?

Understanding the Bitcoin ETF Extensions and Deadlines

TIP: this article was written back in July, however ETFs getting postponed is a regular news item. I have updated the page to give you a timeline.

The CBOE exchange has submitted more than one proposal to the SEC to have Bitcoin ETFs listed. The SolidX shares ETF is on track for its August approval deadline. The Direxion ETFs submitted in January got a deadline extension until September. In short, one of the two deadlines was postponed, but the one that was postponed isn’t the one everyone is excited about.^[1][2]

With that said, it is possible and perhaps even likely that the SolidX ETF will also be postponed, because an ETF is a big step and it is logical the SEC will want to take the maximum amount of time allowed to make their decision. To get that amount of time, they will have to postpone their approval.

UPDATE SEPT 20th: The Van Eck SolidX ETF was postponed again for comments. A decision would be expected before the end of the year.

UPDATE AUG 23rd: After a string of rejections from Winklevoss to ProShares, Direxion and GraniteShare by the SEC, it seems pretty clear that no ETF is happening any time soon. You can read more about that here.

UPDATE AUG 7th: The SolidX ETF decision was postponed. You can read about that here.

UDPATE JULY 26: The Winklevoss twins updated proposal was rejected on July 26, 2018. They had already had the original version of that rejected in January. While this doesn’t bode well for the CBOE ETFs on some levels, it also doesn’t have any direct effect on the SEC’s decision on any other ETFs.

The Details

Some reporting, that phrased this as CBOE Bitcoin ETF postponed (or some variation of that), was confusing people. This confusion led to posts across social media that, intentionally or not, acted as FUD by informing people that the Bitcoin ETF was postponed.

This matters because the potential of the SolidX shares ETF getting listed on the CBOE is one of the factors in the recent Bitcoin run (and thus any sort of negative response or positive response from the SEC would be likely to affect Bitcoin prices).

The approval deadlines are:

• SolidX Shares August 16th; but may be postponed.
• Direxion Long and Short (and others) September 15th after being postponed.

Approval, denial, or an extension must happen by the deadline (meaning we may get word on both of these early).

NOTE: To add some confusion, these aren’t the only ETFs being submitted. Also, the SEC has already rejected a number of ETFs. For more details see our page on Everything you Need to Know About the Bitcoin ETF.

TIP: Having two ETF approvals coming up over two months means that each can have different outcomes. The first could be approved and the second denied, or vice versa, for example. Two approvals in a row would likely have a positive effect on Bitcoin prices, only one of the two could have its own interesting effect, and a denial of the first one but uncertainty over the second could have a unique effect as well.

1. Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade Shares of SolidX Bitcoin Shares Issued by the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust. FederalRegister.gov.
2. Self-Regulatory Organizations; Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc.; Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on Proceedings To Determine Whether To Approve or Disapprove a Proposed Rule Change To List and Trade the Shares of the GraniteShares Bitcoin ETF and the GraniteShares Short Bitcoin ETF Under BZX Rule 14.11(f)(4), Trust Issued Receipts. FederalRegister.gov.