The Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday delayed its decision on Cathie Wood and her ARK Invest (ARKK) bitcoin ETF, marking another hurdle in the effort to access crypto assets through traditional U.S. exchanges. Elsewhere, former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried headed back to prison Friday for witness tampering allegations. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices traded mildly lower Monday.
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Cathie Wood BTC ETF Delayed
The SEC faced an Aug. 13 deadline for a decision on the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF fund. In a filing Friday, the regulator said it is seeking public comment on an amendment in the application, which could push the approval decision date into 2024.
Wood, speaking in an interview with Bloomberg last Monday, speculated that the SEC could approve multiple spot-bitcoin ETFs at the same time. ARK and Wood had previously assumed the ARK 21 Shares fund was first in line for approval.
Momentum toward bit coin ETFs has picked up in recent months, with ARK, BlackRock (BLK), Invesco (IVZ) and WisdomTree (WT) all filing or refiling bitcoin ETF applications.
The SEC is giving the general public three weeks to comment on the proposal and an additional five weeks to respond to the statements.
In late July, Grayscale sued the SEC for denying its requests to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin TrustGBTC into a spot bitcoin ETF. The firm also argued the SEC is required to approve multiple ETFs at once to not “pick winners and losers.”
SBF Ordered To Jail
Also on Friday, Judge Lewis Kaplan of the Federal District Court in Manhattan ordered former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried to jail after a judge revoked his bail for alleged witness tampering, according to reports. Bankman-Fried was taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, according to the New York Times.
Prosecutors accused Bankman-Fried of leaking former Alameda Research CEO Caroline Ellison’s private diary to the New York Times, in an attempt to intimidate witnesses and influence potential jurors. SBF had been living under house arrest at his parents’ home ahead of his early October trial after posting a $250 million bond in December.
The FTX cryptocurrency exchange collapsed in November after the misuse of customer funds left a massive $10 billion hole in its balance sheet. Bankman-Fried was arrested in December on criminal charges including wire and securities fraud. SBF pled not guilty to the charges and potentially faces up to 115 years in prison if convicted.
Cathie Wood, ARK Invest Add To Coinbase Selling Spree; Unload $82 Million Of COIN Stock
Bitcoin Price Action
Cryptocurrency prices traded modestly lower Monday.
Bitcoin hovered near $29,320 late Monday after peaking at $29,661 intraday. BTC briefly reclaimed its $30,000 level Wednesday and struggled to break above $30,000 the past three weeks. It’s below its 2023 high of $31,809 from July 13. The world’s largest cryptocurrency has rebounded 77% so far this year.
Ethereum dipped below $1,8540 Monday afternoon, sliding from its high of $1,856. ETH has traded below its $1,900 level since July 23. Ethereum peaked at $2,139 on April 16 – its highest level since last May – following its Shanghai-market upgrade to a proof-of-stake network on April 13. The No. 2 crypto soared 53.6% year-to-date.
You can follow Harrison Miller for more stock news and updates on Twitter @IBD_Harrison
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