SEC begins formal review of Fidelity, SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF applications

Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust and the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF are now under review by regulators, according to paperwork filed earlier this month.

A pair of Bitcoin (BTC) ETF applications submitted by Fidelity Investments and SkyBridge Capital are under official review by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, reigniting a long-standing debate about whether regulators will finally approve America’s first crypto-focused ETF.

The SEC’s formal review of Fidelity Investments’ application was documented in a May 25 filing that appeared on the regulator’s website. The formal review of the SkyBridge application was outlined in a May 21 filing.

Both ETF applications were submitted in March. As Cointelegraph reported at the time, Anthony Scaramucci’s SkyBridge Capital partnered with investment adviser First Trust Advisors to develop a product that seeks to list shares on the New York Stock Exchange Arca.

The Fidelity application describes an ETF product that tracks Bitcoin’s daily price movements using a proprietary index derived from several price feeds.

U.S. securities regulators now have six ETF applications on the docket for review. A decision on the VanEck application is expected next month.

The SEC has yet to approve a single Bitcoin ETF, citing concerns over price manipulation and volatility. Proponents of a Bitcoin ETF believe this time will be different given the growing maturity of the asset class. It’s believed that a Bitcoin ETF would provide easier institutional access points to the digital asset market, which could be a boon for price and adoption.

North of the border, Canadian lawmakers have approved multiple Bitcoin ETFs. The Purpose Bitcoin ETF, which trades under the ticker symbol BTCC, accumulated $1 billion in assets under management less than two months after launching.