According to The Wall Street Journal, the Securities and Exchange Commission has deemed the recent wave of applications from asset managers seeking to launch bitcoin exchange-traded funds as insufficient.
According to the publication's sources, the SEC notified Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) and Cboe Global Markets (NYSE:CBOE), who submitted applications for asset managers, including BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) and Fidelity Investments, that the filings were inadequate in terms of clarity and completeness.
Crypto prices have surged since June after BlackRock submitted paperwork with the SEC for an ETF that holds actual Bitcoin. In addition, Coinbase (NASDAQ:COIN), which is listed as the custodian for the BlackRock fund's holdings, has also rallied.
Coinbase shares are currently down almost 2% at the time of writing, while Bitcoin has declined 1% so far.
Several asset managers, both traditional and crypto, have taken cues from BlackRock and have either reactivated or amended their applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF. These include Fidelity Investments, Cathie Wood's Ark Investment Management, Invesco, WisdomTree, Bitwise Asset Management, and Valkyrie, according to the WSJ.
The publication stated the SEC told the exchanges it returned the filings as they didn't detail the spot bitcoin exchange they are expected to have a "surveillance-sharing agreement" with or supply enough information regarding the details of those surveillance arrangements.
The asset managers are able to update the language and refile.