The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has given the green light to nine more blockchain-enabled funds from $82 billion asset manager WisdomTree. None of these funds track crypto assets themselves, but the firm does utilize the Ethereum and Stellar blockchains to keep a secondary record of share ownership, thus making them blockchain-enabled or “digital funds” as WidsomTree describes them. The firm announced the SEC’s approval on Dec. 14, and outlined that the nine digital funds offer exposure to a host of different asset classes such as equities, commodities and floating rate treasuries. The funds are expected to launch via …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is taking further steps to stop Grayscale Investments’ efforts to launch a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). Grayscale began its legal challenge of the SEC’s denial order of the proposed investment product in June 2022. A 73-page brief filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Dec. 9 saw the SEC lay out the reasoning for its initial decision to bar Grayscale’s request to convert its existing Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. The SEC is looking for the D.C. Circuit to deny Grayscale’s appeal, which …

In October, Toronto-based Coinsquare became the first crypto trading business to get dealer registration from the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada (IIROC). That means a lot as now Coinsquare investors’ funds enjoy the security of the Canadian Investment Protection Fund in the event of insolvency, while the exchange is required to report its financial standing regularly. This news reminds us about the peculiarities of Canadian regulation of crypto. While the country still holds a rather tight process of licensing the virtual asset providers, it outpaces the neighboring United States in its experiments with crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs), pension funds’ …

Perianne Boring, founder and CEO of blockchain advocacy group Chamber of Digital Commerce, placed the lack of approval of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States squarely on Securities and Exchange Commission chair Gary Gensler, suggesting politics played more of a role than economics. Speaking to Cointelegraph at the Texas Blockchain Summit in Austin on Nov. 18, Boring said the events surrounding FTX’s collapse may have “emboldened the regulation by enforcement approach” from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Treasury, with Republican lawmakers likely to focus on oversight using their House majority in the next Congress. According to …

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has extended its window to decide on whether shares of ARK 21Shares’ Bitcoin exchange-traded fund could be listed on the Chicago Board Options Exchange BZX Exchange. In a Nov. 15 announcement, the SEC issued a notice for a longer designation period for the application of ARK 21Shares’ Bitcoin (BTC) ETF, originally filed with federal regulator on May 13. The SEC twice extended its window to approve or disapprove of the crypto investment vehicle in July with an extension and in August with a comment period. “The Commission finds that it is …

Two digital asset exchange-traded fund (ETF) issuers in Australia are set to leave the market amid heightened regulator scrutiny and a deepened crypto winter, though some remain bullish about the market's prospects. In the last week, Australian crypto ETF providers including Holon Investments and Cosmos Asset Management have indicated they may be stepping back from the crypto ETF scene. On Nov. 6, Holon said it might close its three retail crypto funds following a hardline stance from the Australian financial regulator which has accused the fund of failing to "describe the risks to investors in its target market determination filings," …

The companies behind the Cosmos Purpose Ethereum Access ETF, Cosmos Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF, and Cosmos Global Digital Miners Access ETF filed a request to revoke their quotations on Cboe Australia, according to letters disclosed on Nov. 2. The decision to revoke the quotes reflects the crypto winter's impact on demand for crypto assets, not the management teams' belief in the space's future, according to reports. Each of the three funds has a net asset value under $1 million. On Oct. 31, Cosmos had requested that trading of its Bitcoin and Ether ETFs be halted. A trading halt was also …

The Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has set up requirements for entities considering a public offering of an exchange-traded fund (ETF) tied to cryptocurrency futures. In an Oct. 31 circular, the SFC said that in addition to previously imposed requirements on unit trusts and mutual funds for authorization of a crypto futures ETF, management companies in Hong Kong would need to “have a good track record of regulatory compliance” as well as three years of experience managing ETFs, with consideration for similar investment vehicles. The financial regulator hinted it would follow in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s footsteps by …

The co-founder of Ethereum (ETH), Vitalik Buterin, believes that the crypto ecosystem needs to mature and be in tune with the regulatory policies that allow crypto projects to operate internally freely. Sharing his opinion around crypto regulations, Buterin spoke against the regulations that have an impact on the inner workings of a crypto ecosystem. Considering the current circumstances, he believed it was better to have regulations that allow inner independence to crypto projects, even if it hampers mainstream adoption. Buterin opined: “I'm actually kinda happy a lot of the exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are getting delayed. The ecosystem needs time to …

As the crypto market shows signs of a gradual recovery, with Bitcoin (BTC) holding above the psychologically important $20,000 level after its initial crash to $17,600 in June, this month still sets a record low for an average daily aggregate product volume across all digital asset investment products. According to the report from CryptoCompare, published on Oct. 27, the average daily trading volume of institutional crypto products had fallen 34.1% — to $61.3 million in October. Almost all the products covered in the report recorded a large decline in average daily volumes, ranging from -24.3% to -77.5%. The downward trend …

U.S. investors have been waiting for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval since May 2014 when the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust filed an amendment request at the Securities and Exchange (SEC). Over the years, the SEC has rejected every applicant and the latest denial was issued to WisdomTree’s application for a spot Bitcoin ETF on Oct. 11. The SEC concluded that the offer did not have the ability “to obtain information necessary to detect, investigate, and deter fraud and market manipulation, as well as violations of exchange rules and applicable federal securities laws and rules.” Bitcoin investment trust vehicles have existed …

Valkyrie Funds, a major cryptocurrency fund manager in the United States, will soon be liquidating one of its Bitcoin (BTC)-related exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The firm announced on Oct. 11 plans to close the Valkyrie Balance Sheet Opportunities ETF, a crypto investment product offering indirect exposure to BTC. The fund will be delisted from the Nasdaq Exchange as Valkyrie plans to liquidate the ETF on Oct. 31, 2022. According to the announcement, Shareholders will be able to sell shares up until the end of the trading day on Oct. 28, 2022. Any investors still holding the fund shares at liquidation will …