The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has, once again, rejected a spot bitcoin ETF application. It was filed earlier by the investment management company First Trust Advisors and the hedge fund SkyBridge led by Anthony Scaramucci.

• In a statement published on Thursday (January 20, 2022), the SEC said the reason for the rejection was that they failed to meet the requirements.
• According to an excerpt from the SEC document:

“Because NYSE Arca has not demonstrated that its proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, the Commission must disapprove the proposal.”

• Back in March 2021, SkyBridge partnered with First Trust to file a Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC. On May 25, the Commission began an official review of the ETF proposal.
• Later in July, the SEC first postponed its decision on the application till August 25, with another delay happening in November 2021.

A statement from the SEC document said:

“The Commission further concludes that NYSE Arca has not established that it has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to bitcoin.”

• Meanwhile, the SEC’s latest rejection is not surprising, given that the agency is yet to greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF product. In December, the securities watchdog disapproved an application by Valkyrie and Kryptoin. NYDIG’s proposal has been delayed until March 16, 2022.
• However, the SEC seems to show a preference for ETFs that track bitcoin futures. ProShares made history as the company with the first approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Others have come from VanEck and Valkyrie.