According to CoinDesk: The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadlines for its response to Bitcoin ETF applications from Ark 21Shares and Global X, anticipating a possible federal government shutdown due to Congress's ongoing budget negotiations.
Both Ark Investment Management and 21Shares have been awaiting ETF approval since 2021, having refiled for a potential Bitcoin ETF earlier this year after previous attempts were denied by the SEC. The new deadline for an SEC response to Ark 21Shares is now set at January 10.
Global X, which submitted its application last month to become the ninth active spot-Bitcoin application under the SEC's purview, will now have to wait until November 21 for a response. If approved, the fund would provide investors with exposure to Bitcoin along with protections not always available to investors directly investing in Bitcoin.
Although the SEC previously rejected spot Bitcoin ETF products, citing market manipulation risks and inadequate investor protections, last month's federal court ruling criticized the regulator's ETF decisions as "arbitrary and capricious" and ordered it to reconsider its stance.
While the SEC typically utilizes its full 240-day window to deliver a final decision, the potential government shutdown has advanced the interim decision to Tuesday, much earlier than usual. In similar circumstances during the 2019 shutdown, the SEC asked an applicant to withdraw its filing.
In Tuesday's filings, the SEC stated that it "finds it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action," providing the regulator with "sufficient time to consider" its decision. The move coincides with a letter sent by bipartisan members of the House Financial Services Committee to SEC Chair Gary Gensler, urging expedited approval of the pending spot ETF applications following the regulatory body's recent court setback.
