New York-based Wilshire Phoenix has replied to the U.S. market regulator’s rejection of its proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

The asset management firm stated that this decision taken by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is disappointing, stressing that it exerted efforts to comply with the market watchdog’s rules:

“We made every effort to get the SEC’s attention on this important issue, including undertaking extensive analysis that was made available to the SEC staff, submitting key data, and offering to provide additional information to facilitate the listing of a much needed regulated bitcoin-related ETP in the United States.”

“Unfortunately, the Order shows that all of these efforts did not receive the SEC’s full attention,” the company confirmed.

In January 2019, Wilshire had filed its ‘US Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust’ to the market regulator. The firm stated: “The fund provides investors with exposure to Bitcoin in a manner that is more efficient, convenient and less volatile than purchasing stand-alone Bitcoin.”

The asset management firm has made six changes to its proposal in 13 months. However, the SEC dismissed this proposal on 26 February, citing market manipulation.

William Herrmann, managing director of Wilshire, replied to this proposal rejection, noting that Bitcoin ETF will provide institutional investors with a safer way for Bitcoin exposure.

“Many retail investors are already investing in this commodity and investor demand continues to grow each day. Our ETP was created to provide investors with exposure to bitcoin through a regulated and transparent vehicle that also mitigates volatility.”

“In my opinion, the Commission has done a great disservice to the public by rejecting this application,” he added.

SEC unwilling to approve any product providing access to BTC

In a related context, SEC commission Hester Peirce said the regulator does not intend to give the green light for any product providing exposure to Bitcoin:

“This line of disapprovals leads me to conclude that this Commission is unwilling to approve the listing of any product that would provide access to the market for bitcoin and that no filing will meet the ever-shifting standards that this Commission insists on applying to bitcoin-related products—and only to bitcoin-related products.”

Earlier, Cryptolydian reported that Wilshire Phoenix has submitted an ETF application in mid-2019, but SEC has postponed its decision.

A Bitcoin ETF is an instrument that helps monitor the performance of underlying assets. Thus, investors can easily invest in the ETF without really knowing the technical difficulties of the asset class.

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