- The U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) initially accepted the conversion of the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF), however shortly withdrew its accelerated approval.
- In line with a doc dated July 22, 2025, the choice was first issued by the SEC’s Division of Buying and selling and Markets.
- Nevertheless, Assistant Secretary Sherry R. Haywood later introduced that the matter can be reviewed by the complete Fee.
In its official notice, a consultant of the SEC cited Rule 431, which permits the company to droop a call till additional discover pending a full assessment. The SEC declined to remark on the continuing assessment, citing company coverage. Bitwise additionally didn’t instantly reply to requests for remark.
The Bitwise 10 fund, which trades below the ticker BITW, consists of cryptocurrencies weighted by market capitalization, together with main belongings comparable to Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Solana, and Polkadot. Beforehand, the fund was out there solely over-the-counter. The transfer to rework it into an ETF was broadly anticipated, as requests for crypto fund conversions have elevated in latest months.
An analogous episode occurred with the Grayscale Digital Massive Cap Fund. Its utility to transform into an ETF additionally initially acquired accelerated approval, which the SEC later put on maintain. Grayscale continues to press for itemizing, indicating it’s ready to pursue additional authorized avenues if mandatory.
The SEC has not but formally commented on the explanations for these suspensions, however analysts have proposed a number of theories. Van Buren Capital Basic Associate Scott Johnson suggests the preliminary approval might have been issued to facilitate additional assessment or intervention by Commissioner Caroline Crenshaw, who is thought for her skepticism towards cryptocurrencies. Johnson additionally famous that political modifications inside the SEC could also be affecting the approval course of.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas agreed, including that the SEC is probably going delaying selections whereas it really works to develop a unified framework for crypto ETF listings. He speculates that the company goals to exchange the prolonged 19b-4 submitting course of with a extra streamlined assessment mechanism.
Because the trade awaits additional SEC steerage, the way forward for crypto ETF approvals—and their position within the broader monetary markets—stays unsure.
