The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) refused to approve a Fidelity spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), adding to the recent list of rejected applications.
The rejection of Fidelity’s application for the Wise Origin Bitcoin Trust on Thursday comes just seven days after the SEC threw out a spot bitcoin ETF application filed by investment advisory firm First Trust and hedge fund SkyBridge Capital.
The rejection follows the precedent set by the SEC in preferring ETFs that track bitcoin futures.
“While we are disappointed by the outcome of the SEC’s deliberations resulting in today’s disapproval order, we reaffirm our belief in market readiness for a physical bitcoin exchange traded product and look forward to continued constructive dialogue with the SEC,” said a spokesperson from Fidelity.
In December, the regulator rejected investment firm Kryptoin’s proposal to list a spot bitcoin ETF. It has also rejected spot bitcoin ETF proposals from VanEck and WisdomTree.
In October, the first-ever ETF backed by bitcoin futures was launched by ProShares trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Other approvals include the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF.
UPDATE (Jan. 27 20:11 UTC): Added statement from Fidelity in third bullet point.
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