Nasdaq refiled an application with the U.S. securities regulator to list an exchange-traded fund by BlackRock that will reflect the price of bitcoin to add additional details, according to a filing made public on Monday.
The refreshed filing, submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Thursday, said that Coinbase Global will provide market surveillance in support of the proposed ETF from the world’s largest asset manager.
The move comes after the regulator reportedly had concerns over the initial filings by Nasdaq as being unclear and incomplete. It had flagged similar concerns to Cboe related to a filing from Fidelity.
The digital asset space is looking to regain popularity after a bruising 2022 that saw several crypto ventures collapse, including the spectacular implosion of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.
The SEC last month sued Coinbase for failing to register as an exchange. According to Cboe’s Fidelity bitcoin ETF filing, the company’s platform represented roughly half of U.S. dollar-bitcoin trading in May.
Coinbase said in a letter filed last month in Manhattan federal court that it will ask a judge to toss the SEC lawsuit, arguing the regulator lacks authority to pursue civil claims because the crypto assets trading on its platform are not “investment contracts”, and thus not securities.
The SEC has rejected dozens of spot bitcoin ETF applications in recent years, including one from Fidelity in January 2022.
In all the cases, it said the filings did not meet the standards designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative practices and protect investors and the public interest.
© Thomson Reuters 2023
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