First Trust and VanEck are also among the issuers that withdrew plans for bitcoin ETFs.
Thus far, no exchange traded products related to digital currencies have been approved by U.S. regulators. Derivatives help increase liquidity and improve markets for an asset category by allowing investors to bet on ups and downs of an asset, evening allowing individuals to adopt market-neutral strategies. They are also a key component in the creation of many futures-backed ETFs utilized by a range of investors.
“While the SEC has released the Cboe proposals for public comment, it has a longer history of pressing for bitcoin ETF proposal withdrawals,” according to Coindesk. “Several organizations killed their ETF efforts last year at the request of the agency – at the same time, at least two of these proposals were denied because bitcoin futures contracts did not exist at the time.”
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