SEC rejects Wilshire Phoenix Bitcoin ETF proposal
The SEC rejected Wilshire Phoenix's proposed Bitcoin-and-Treasury exchange-traded fund, again concluding that the listing exchange had not met the agency's anti-manipulation requirements.
On February 26, the SEC disapproved NYSE Arca's proposed rule change to list shares of the United States Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust, sponsored by Wilshire Phoenix. The product attempted to address volatility by shifting between Bitcoin and short-term U.S. Treasuries.
The Commission nevertheless concluded that the exchange had not demonstrated that the proposal satisfied the Exchange Act's requirements designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices. Commissioner Hester Peirce dissented, arguing that the agency was applying an unusually demanding standard to Bitcoin products.
The decision was another important stage in the pre-spot-ETF era: regulated futures and other Bitcoin exposure existed, but the SEC still refused to permit a U.S. exchange-traded product holding spot Bitcoin under this structure.