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Although last week many sources were referring to the Bitcoin ETFs that approved Japan as an alternative to Bitcoin futures, it seems that it will not be so after all.
The reports led to an increase in the anticipation of the approval of the VanEck Bitcoin ETF deposit that will be decided by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the end of February, as The emergence of tightly regulated investment vehicles in a market such as Japan would reduce the risk of price manipulation.
Just to remind you, last month the SEC announced that it is once again delaying the decision on the change of rules for a publicly traded fund of Bitcoin by VanEck. The new deadline is February 27, 2019.
The Bitcoin ETF that was proposed by the fund manager VanEck and SoldiX in collaboration with the CBOE BZX exchange was postponed for the third time by the SEC in the Thursday circular. SEC then declared:
"The Commission considers it appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order that approves or disapproves the modification of the proposed rule so that it has sufficient time to consider this proposed rule change".
We have already written about how the Financial Services Agency of Japan (FSA) has refused to amend national legislation to allow for encrypted derivatives, such as futures and options, in December 2018. However, it appeared that the financial controller he was quite optimistic about the exchange-traded funds and is brooding over the approval of the cryptic ETFs in the country.
An anonymous source last week stated that the Financial Services Agency is currently measuring the interest of industry in ETFs tracking digital currencies. Last month, the Japanese financial regulator banned instruments such as Bitcoin futures or Ethereum options to avoid stoke speculation, which was a stop for investors.
The decision not to allow the trading of cryptographic derivatives on financial exchanges is a way of protection. A year ago, Japanese-based Coincheck, based in Tokyo, reported losing $ 500 million of NEM tokens overnight, which left the global cryptocurrency market in great shock. The FSA then raided on Coincheck to "ensure the conservation of customer assets".
However, in a more recent statement, an FSA spokesperson stated that the agency does not recognize the need for any cryptocurrency derivative from now on, consolidating its position towards both cryptographic ETFs and futures products. .
They said:
"There is no fact that we are considering approving ETFs that currently track cryptocurrencies … we are not currently considering approving them.
Given that it is difficult for us to find constructive and social significance in the trade in cryptographic derivatives, we believe that it is not necessary to trade derivatives on cryptocurrencies in financial instruments in which many market participants are able to negotiate ".
Self-regulation as a main part of the ecosystem
The FSA has recently published the new rules proposed for crypto operators based on discussions and conclusions of 11 study group meetings. Self-regulation will play an important role in the ecosystem. In October, the agency approved the Japan Virtual Currency Exchange Association (Jvcea) as a self-regulating organization (SRO).
When Japan has legalized cryptocurrencies as a means of payment in April 2017, initial coin offerings (ICOs) and their tokens have not been included. However, with the growing interest in token sales as a fund-raising method, the FSA has turned its attention to the issue. The agency has recently published a document outlining the key areas that will be dealt with in the coming regulations.
The FSA will focus on "investment ICOs" and "will clarify that the solicitation of investments through virtual currency financing is subject to financial regulations", reads the document.
In any case, the SEC will certainly have a handful since Bitwise Asset Management, a provider of funds indexed for the past week, has also applied to launch a new bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF).
The company has submitted an initial registration form which proposes the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund would monitor the Bitwise Bitcoin Total Return Index, which measures the value of Bitcoin plus any "significant significant fork".
If the ETF is approved, its shares will be listed on NYSE Arca, which focuses on trading in stocks and options (rather than large caps, which are traded on the New York Stock Exchange).
In recent months, ten ETFs have been rejected by the US SEC for various reasons, including risks of manipulation and security.
