Bitcoin ETF Hopefuls Speak to SEC in Closed-Door Meeting

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While a majority of crypto-related news is sculpted for public consumption, in juxtaposition to the transparency that public blockchains provide, recently-released documents from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) indicate that a paramount closed-door meeting recently occurred.

VanEck: Our Bitcoin ETF Issues Have Been Resolved

Two weeks ago, stowed far away from the prying eyes of the crypto public, the SEC and a number of representatives from CBOE Global Markets, VanEck, and SolidX convened to further the conversation surrounding Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). While this meeting went undisclosed for an extended period of time, on Tuesday, exactly 14 days after this fateful occurrence, the financial regulator released VanEck’s slide deck, coupled with a memorandum of the event, to give the public some insight on this closed-door meeting.

The memorandum revealed that the meeting, which occurred on October 9th, was attended by Commissioner Roisman, who has been classified as “pro-crypto” by some, four legal counsels, and five representatives from the three aforementioned finance-focused firms.

In the 11-part slide deck, New York-based VanEck, which has been working on a Bitcoin ETF with SolidX Partners since 2017, explained the history and status of the collaborative effort between itself and SolidX. Establishing that it is qualified to propose a crypto-backed ETF from the get-go, VanEck pointed it that it is a well-known fund issuer that manages $46 billion in assets.

Earlier this year, crypto investors across the globe were disappointed when the SEC delayed its verdict on a VanEck-backed Bitcoin ETF proposal for multiple months. Due to a variety of documents released by the regulatory body, it was widely believed that a lack of investor protection, market surveillance infrastructure, and liquidity led the body to not immediately release a verdict on the matter.

Now, in the midst of a key stage of the SEC’s decision-making process on the proposal, VanEck has claimed that the issues of yesteryear, which were outlined in previous disapproval orders, “have been resolved.”

Firstly, the slide deck revealed that its proposed ETF’s share price will be set at 25 Bitcoin a piece, or approximately $170,000 at the time of writing. This high barrier to entry has been set to seemingly calm the SEC’s concerns that the retail cryptocurrency sub-sector isn’t prepared to properly allocate capital to an ETF.

Then, knocking down the SEC’s most-pertinent concerns in one fell swoop, in a slide titled “VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust Should Be Approved,” the representatives from the firms noted that monumental progress has been made towards solving regulatory qualms. Most notably, VanEck claimed that there now “exists a significant regulated derivatives market for Bitcoin,” adding that CBOE’s rules dictate that market surveillance will be a priority in the proposed fund.

No comments from the SEC were issued on VanEck’s slide decks, but many investors are hopeful that the attendees of the forum were pleased with what was presented.

But still, almost as if this rendezvous flew under the radar of nearly every SEC agent, Commissioner Stein, who wasn’t in attendance, recently took to Bloomberg to express that ETF hopefuls will likely be fighting an uphill battle. As reported by NewsBTC previously, Stein, whose tenure at the SEC is slated to end in December, told the media outlet:

“At the end of the day, whatever fund presents a concept to us will have to show how they can get accurate valuations, how they make sure that there is physical custody, and how to make sure that there is adequate liquidity, especially in a 40 act fund context, where investors can get the money when they need their money.”

Regardless, while Stein may have not acknowledged the gathering, contrary to popular belief, the cryptocurrency industry has seen its fair share of developments in recent weeks, even if the stagnating market has catalyzed traders to spin a different story.