United States Representatives Mike Flood, Wiley Nickel, Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres have called on the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) to immediately approve the listing of Bitcoin (BTC). However, the agency has delayed its final decision regarding the BTC exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The SEC has also delayed its decision on the Ether (ETH) ETFs of VanEck and Ark 21Shares until after it makes a final decision. GlobalX must wait until November 21 for the commission’s decision, and Invesco, Bitwise and Valkyrie must wait until mid-September for the same.
The latest delays occurred two weeks before the second deadline for many applicants who were expecting to hear back from the Securities Regulator by October 16-19. This timing may have been related to the narrowly avoided U.S. government shutdown, which would have disrupted the country’s financial regulators and other federal agencies. Bitwise Asset Management reacted to the delay of its Spot Bitcoin ETF with an amended application, responding to the SEC’s objections to the product. The company engaged with what they called the “mixed” or “inconclusive” academic record of the lead-lag relationship between BTC Futures and Spot Markets.
The Shanghai No.2 Intermediate People’s Court has recognized Bitcoin as a digital asset that is unique, non-replicable and has inherent value. Bitcoin stands out from the crowd as unique product that is not easily replicated. It also has important currency features like scalability and ease of use in circulation, storage, and payment.
Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) formulated the critical factors for regulating the country’s cryptocurrency market, releasing industry guidelines for virtual asset service providers (VASP). The guidelines mention standard industry rules such as separating exchange treasury from customer assets, and reviewing mechanisms for listing or delisting virtual asset. The FSC also required that foreign VASPs refrain from providing services in Taiwan unless they have been registered in accordance with the law.
The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) of Hong Kong will keep a list of “suspicious” virtual asset trading platforms that are licensed, deemed to be licensed, or have applications pending. This list will be featured in an easily accessible and prominent part of the regulator’s website and is intended to help the public identify VATPs who may not be regulated. The new rules follow the JPEX scandal, which local media outlets have described as one of worst financial fraud cases to ever hit the region. JPEX is accused of misleadingly promoting its crypto exchange services to residents of Hong Kong who are not licensed in the country.
