SEC rejects VanEck's spot bitcoin ETF

SEC Chair Gary Gensler.

J. Scott Applewhite/AP

The U.S Securities and Exchange Commission has rejected a proposed effort to list a spot bitcoin exchange trader fund.

The S.E.C who is the agency who regulates securities markets in the U.S, again recently punted a final determination on VanEck’s recently proposed fund.

"This order disapproves the proposed rule change," the SEC said in its notice, published Friday. "The Commission concludes that BZX has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), in particular, the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” and “to protect investors and the public interest.”

Friday's decline comes soon after the SEC cleared the runway for ETF products centered around bitcoin futures. In recent comments, SEC chair Gary Gensler had expressed openness toward bitcoin futures-based ETFs as opposed to spot ETFs.

As previously reported, several other spot bitcoin ETF proposals are currently before the SEC.