The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decisions on 6 applications for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
According to SEC filings dated Aug. 31, the commission has designated a longer period in which it may review spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF applications from WisdomTree, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, and Valkyrie, as well as the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust proposed by Fidelity. The SEC will have another 45 days upon publication in the Federal Register to consider the proposed rule changes allowing listing of the investment vehicles, giving the regulator until October to approve, deny or delay a decision.
The delays followed speculation that the SEC could approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S. for the first time after the commission lost a crucial court case brought by asset manager Grayscale. An appellate court ruled on Aug. 29 the SEC would need to review Grayscale’s petition to convert its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF, leading many experts to suggest the odds for approval of at least one spot crypto ETF had significantly increased.
WisdomTree’s Bitcoin ETF proposal didn’t get the SEC’s approval following a 2021 filing. However, after BlackRock joined the spot Bitcoin ETF race, WisdomTree refiled its application. In July, following reports that the SEC would be more open to accepting ETF applications with a surveillance-sharing agreement, some firms refiled, naming crypto exchange Coinbase as a partner.
WisdomTree, Valkyrie, Fidelity, VanEck, Bitwise and Invesco are six of many firms with crypto ETF applications in the SEC pipeline, including BlackRock, and ARK Invest. Many had expected the SEC to reach a decision or delay approval for Bitwise’s BTC investment vehicle first, as its deadline was Sept. 1. Labor Day, falling on Sept. 4 in 2023, is a national holiday in the United States, suggesting the commission may want to get the filings in before the weekend.
Update (Aug. 31 at 8:25 PM UTC): This article has been updated to reflect the SEC also delayed its decision on Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust and the ETF offering from VanEck.
Update (Aug. 31 at 8:57 PM UTC): This article has been updated to include the SEC delaying a decision on the Bitcoin ETF from Bitwise Asset Management.
Canterbury MP Rosie Duffield has resigned from the Labour Party.
The 53-year-old MP is the first to jump ship since the general election and in her resignation letter criticised the prime minister for accepting thousands of pounds worth of gifts.
She told Sir Keir Starmer the reason for leaving now is “the programme of policies you seem determined to stick to”, despite their unpopularity with the electorate and MPs.
In her letter she accused the prime minister and his top team of “sleaze, nepotism and apparent avarice” which are “off the scale”.
“I’m so ashamed of what you and your inner circle have done to tarnish and humiliate our once proud party,” she said.
Since December 2019, the prime minister received £107,145 in gifts, benefits, and hospitality – a specific category in parliament’s register of MPs’ interests.
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Ms Duffield, who has previously clashed with the prime minister on gender issues, attacked the government for pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies as she resigned the Labour whip.
She criticised the decision to keep the two-child benefit cap and means-test the winter fuel payment, and accused the prime minister of “hypocrisy” over his acceptance of free gifts from donors.
“Since the change of government in July, the revelations of hypocrisy have been staggering and increasingly outrageous,” she said.
“I cannot put into words how angry I and my colleagues are at your total lack of understanding about how you have made us all appear.”
Ms Duffield also mentioned the recent “treatment of Diane Abbott”, who said she thought she had been barred from standing by Labour ahead of the general election, before Sir Keir said she would be allowed to defend her Hackney North and Stoke Newington seat for the party.
Her relationship with the Labour leadership has long been strained and her decision to quit the party comes after seven other Labour MPs were suspended for rebelling by voting for a motion calling for the two-child benefit cap to be abolished.
“Someone with far-above-average wealth choosing to keep the Conservatives’ two-child limit to benefit payments which entrenches children in poverty, while inexplicably accepting expensive personal gifts of designer suits and glasses costing more than most of those people can grasp – this is entirely undeserving of holding the title of Labour prime minister,” she said.
Ms Duffield said she will continue to represent her constituents as an independent MP, “guided by my core Labour values”.