The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has asked Crypto Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) to withdraw their 19B-4 archives and paved the way for a faster approval process after new rules removed an important regulatory barrier, told a person who is familiar with the case, to Coindesk.
Earlier this month, SEC signed on generic listing standards that allow exchanges to list raw material -based stock exchange products (ETPs), including those bound to cryptocurrencies, without requiring a separate review for each one. These changes are expected to lower the regulatory obstacles to the launch of spot -crypto -Tfs.
Historically, issuers had to work with stock exchanges to submit 19B-4-archive-formal requests to change the exchange rules an ETF could be erected. But under the updated framework, this step is no longer required for certain products. Issuers now only need to submit an S-1, the document describing the structure and strategy of the ETF to receive SEC’s green light.
“SEC can move absurdly quickly if they really want -as we have seen in the past. That means we could see approvals in a few days. But there is no guarantee of it,” said Bloomberg -Traft -Tf -Analyst James Seyffart.
“They still don’t have Greenlit Bitwise’s Bitw to convert to a ETF that I guess to do with the first to archive aspect that SEC typically follows for the rest of the ETF industry. So maybe they will let these things launch in kind of rolling waves, or it may be a shotgun with underlying asset.”
Over the past several months, asset managers have submitted a growing list of Spot Crypto ETF proposals covering coins like At and . These proposals included both 19B-4 and S-1 archives, reflecting the two-part process required by the old rules.
Removing the need for 19B-4 forms can significantly speed up approvals. The 19B-4 route involved exchanges, such as Nasdaq or Nyse Arca, and Seco second to change their own listing standards every time a new product was introduced-a process that often took months.
Now with SEC’s updated attitude, exchanges list crypto-based ETFs that fall within the generic Commodity ETP category without having to seek a rule change every time. This places the approval burden square on the S-1 archiving, which remains during the direct review of the SEC.
Although it is unclear how fast SEC will move on the excellent S-1’s, the change marks a shift in the agency’s approach to crypto-markets-potentially the door to a wider range of digital asset funds to get on the market with fewer regulatory delays.
“Everything is uncertain. Add the prospect of a government closure and things can be really wonky,” Seyffart said.
