Bitcoin holds firm despite another SEC rejection
Story by: AARON HANKIN
Bitcoin prices are trading higher Thursday, despite another blow for the industry in its quest for widespread acceptance of the nascent virtual currency market.
Late Wednesday, the Securities and Exchange Commission rejected the application by ProShares for two separate bitcoin-related exchange-traded funds. In its discussion, the SEC said the application did not satisfy “in particular, the requirement that a national securities exchange’s rules be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.”
In all, the SEC denied nine separate applications Wednesday.
The decision has not deterred investors, apparently, with bitcoin trading in the green Thursday morning in New York. A single bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.16% last changed hands at $6,408.88, up 1.2% since Wednesday at 5 p.m. Eastern Time on the Kraken crypto exchange.
Read: These may be the 3 biggest hurdles to a bitcoin ETF
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Onlookers now await the SEC’s decisions on proposals from Bitwise Asset Management and the VanEck and SolidX joint proposal. A decision on the latter is due on or before Sept. 30.
The rejection was no surprise
It’s been a number of years since the first application for a bitcoin-related ETF by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, and while each rejection comes with disappointment, Wednesday’s was not overly surprising, according to one fund manager. “The denial of ProShares Bitcoin ETF and Short Bitcoin ETF proposals was expected,” wrote Maxim Nurov, fund manager at Black Square Capital in an email to MarketWatch.
“Whether the ETF is based on future contracts or the spot bitcoin price, SEC most likely wants a longer period of underlying market performance before they approve the first bitcoin ETF.”
Read: Crypto exchanges back Winklevoss-backed effort to self-regulate
Altcoins showing early gains
Major altcoins, which are smaller coins other than bitcoin, are trading in the green Thursday. Ether ETHUSD, +3.85% has added 0.3% to $268.90, Bitcoin CashBCHUSD, +2.70% is up 0.7% at $518.60, Litecoin LTCUSD, +3.06% is up 1.1% at $55.22 and Ripple’s XRP coin XRPUSD, +1.38% is trading at 32 cents, up 0.9%.
It’s a mixed start for bitcoin futures Thursday. The Cboe Global Markets Inc.’s September contract XBTU8, +2.50% is up 1.4% at $6,375, while the comparable CME Group Inc. The August contract BTCQ8, +0.55% is down 0.2% at $6,390.
Original story: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/bitcoin-holds-firm-despite-another-sec-rejection-2018-08-23
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