Bitcoin ETF postponed due to government shutdown

With the American government not operating in full force due to the government shutdown, the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has withdrawn its request for a rule change by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This was announced by the SEC on Monday. If the SEC would change its rules, it would allow to list a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) on institutionalized exchanges.

CBOE has already stated that it withdrew its request because of the government shutdown. The deadline was approaching in a few days, and there's no sight on an end of the government shutdown. Even though the SEC is working on a limited basis, the CBOE will file a new request when everything is back to normal.

If the SEC would change its rules, it would allow for a Bitcoin ETF based on the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust. According to their filing, each share is set to $200.000. This would mean that it's really aimed at institutional investors and not at retail investors that currently dominate the cryptocurrency market.

There's been lots of talk about the potential of a Bitcoin ETF. The SEC has been postponing its decision on the VanEck SolidX proposal since last summer, as they want to obtain more knowledge and get insight into the sentiment within the crypto community and among investors.

Not everybody believes a Bitcoin ETF will happen. Crypto analyst Brian Kelly from CNBC believes there's 'no shot' for a Bitcoin ETF in 2019. He believes it will take at least another year before the SEC fully believes it has all the answers it's looking for. However, SEC commissioner Hester Peirce believes a Bitcoin ETF is 'definitely possible', even though she says it could happen now or in 20 years.