The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) BZX Equity Exchange has withdrawn a request that it submitted to the U.S Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) for rule changes that would allow it list a Bitcoin ETF in 2019.
A reason for the decision was not declared by CBOE in a notice of withdrawal signed by SEC Deputy Secretary, Eduardo A. Aleman and dated January 23. However, the document acknowledged that the withdrawal was made on January 22.
The development comes as a blow to the crypto industry which has yearned so far to witness the launch of a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) that would welcome institutional investors into the space.
The CBOE request to list a Bitcoin ETF has stayed with the SEC for over six years, as the withdrawal notice confirmed that the application was first submitted on June 20, 2018.
The regulators subsequently listed the proposal for public comments on the Federal Register on July 2, 2018, before announcing in August that it would take a longer time to decide whether or not to approve the proposed rule change.
On September 20, 2018, the Securities Exchanges Commission instituted proceedings to determine whether to approve the proposal or not, only to announce on December 6, that they would require a longer time to reach a decision.
However, it seems that the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) BZX Equity Exchange has gotten tired of the constant delays or simply wants to submit a new proposed rule change that will have a better shot at securing regulatory approval.
Meanwhile, the withdrawal by the CBOE does not mean that any hopes of a Bitcoin ETF on a major exchange is totally lost. We reported earlier this month that crypto startup, Bitwise also submitted a Bitcoin ETF proposal with the SEC after studying past rejections by the regulators.
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