Is a Bitcoin ETF Approval Possible This Year? Starting from the SEC's Further Delay of Van Eck's Application

According to information from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official website, the commission has again delayed its decision on the Bitcoin ETF product submitted by Van Eck—the Van Eck Bitcoin Trust—stating plans to take another 60 days for review, with the final result to be announced on November 14.

It is understood that the Van Eck Bitcoin Trust is one of the six Bitcoin ETF products currently considered most competitive in the market. The other five are Bitcoin ETF applications submitted by Wisdom Tree, Kryptoin, Valkyrie, Sky Bridge, and Wise Origin (under Fidelity). According to the SEC's current rules, after publishing a notice confirming receipt of Form 19B-4 submitted by exchanges where these Bitcoin ETFs plan to list, the SEC begins a review period within 5 working days, with a maximum final review window of 240 days. The Van Eck Bitcoin Trust was officially submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by the Cboe BZX Exchange, a securities exchange under the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), on March 1 this year. The SEC confirmed receipt on March 15 and officially began the review period on March 19.

In the article "Understanding the Global State of Bitcoin ETFs: When Does the SEC's 'Stalling Tactic' End?" first published by OKX Academy this June, we provided detailed calculations of the potential final approval times for these six most competitive Bitcoin ETF products based on their application order and the SEC's review rules. For the Van Eck Bitcoin Trust, this SEC delay decision was actually expected.

SEC Review Timeline for Six Most Competitive Bitcoin ETFs in the Market, OKX Chart

Due to the unique nature of Bitcoin ETF products and their distinctive bridge role between the crypto market and traditional financial markets, they have consistently garnered attention from market investors and have been a key industry dynamic monitored by OKX Academy.

Given the significant influence the United States currently holds in global financial markets, discussions about Bitcoin ETF applications can generally be divided into applications regulated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Bitcoin ETF applications outside the United States. As early as 2013, during the first bull market in the crypto space, the concept of a Bitcoin ETF was already proposed. The earliest verifiable formal application record occurred in 2016. On June 30, 2016, the Bats BZX Exchange submitted an application to the SEC seeking approval for the trading of the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust product. If approved, the Winklevoss twins' Bitcoin ETF would become the first Bitcoin ETF to enter a fully regulated stock exchange with a license. This would enable ordinary investors to directly access Bitcoin without actually holding crypto assets or struggling to learn how to operate crypto asset trading or use wallets . From the perspective of crypto industry development, this would undoubtedly be a significant step toward mainstreaming crypto assets. However, unsurprisingly, after considerable deliberation, the SEC rejected this application.

On March 10, 2017, the SEC issued a statement explaining the reasons behind this decision, with the primary reason being to prevent price manipulation and market fraud. This aligns with former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton's consistently cautious approach toward the crypto industry.

However, the SEC's conservative and cautious attitude has not dampened enthusiasm within the crypto industry for applying for Bitcoin ETFs. For example, Grayscale Investments, a large crypto asset management company well-known to market investors during this bull market, also submitted a Bitcoin ETF application to the SEC in 2016, though after communicating with the SEC, Grayscale voluntarily withdrew the application. In the subsequent years, according to incomplete statistics, multiple institutions including SolidX, Van Eck, Exchange Listed Funds Trust, Proshares BTC ETF, First Trust, Direxion, and Bitwise Bitcoin ETF have submitted Bitcoin ETF applications to the U.S. SEC, but none have been approved.

Outside the United States, in February 2021, Canadian asset management companies Purpose Investments Inc. and Evolve Funds Group Inc. successively obtained approval from the Ontario Securities Commission to issue Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). On February 18 local time, the world's first Bitcoin ETF officially launched for trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange, also marking the first Bitcoin funds for retail investors globally, creating historic precedent.

Purpose Investments Inc. Bitcoin ETF Product Key Information, Source: Official Website

According to information from Purpose Investments Inc.'s official website, as of September 21, 2021, the amount of Bitcoin managed by its Bitcoin ETF product has exceeded 21,000 BTC, with a current total value reaching $885 million.

Beyond Canada, Bitcoin ETFs have also taken root in Latin American markets. On June 23, 2021, blockchain investment company QR Capital's Bitcoin ETF successfully launched for trading on the Brazilian Stock Exchange under the trading symbol QBTC. In March, the Brazilian Securities Commission approved QR Capital's Bitcoin ETF to trade on the B3 Exchange in São Paulo, making Brazil the second country to approve a Bitcoin ETF following Canada.

Bitcoin Holdings Under QR Capital's QBTC, Source: Glassnode

Through the Glassnode data analysis platform, we can see that the fund currently holds 12,900 BTC, with an assets under management scale reaching $540 million. During the second quarter peak, its Bitcoin holdings once exceeded 23,000 BTC, with assets under management reaching a high of $1.49 billion.

Although compared to Grayscale Investments' current $38 billion asset scale, the current market Bitcoin ETFs still appear relatively modest in size, the advantages demonstrated by Bitcoin ETFs in low management fees, low entry barriers, and better liquidity compared to trust fund operating models have already put pressure on "Grayscale and others," directly prompting Grayscale Investments to submit another application to the SEC this April to convert its Bitcoin trust fund into a Bitcoin ETF.

Furthermore, more investment companies intending to enter the crypto compliance business are exploring more diverse forms of ETF-like trading products. For instance, on August 21 this year, investment management company AdvisorShares submitted a Bitcoin ETF application file to the SEC, planning to offer the AdvisorShares Managed Bitcoin ETF on NYSE Arca. According to information disclosed in the application file, this ETF is an actively managed ETF that will not invest directly in Bitcoin but will invest entirely or predominantly in Bitcoin futures and short-term fixed-income securities, cash or cash equivalents to achieve investment objectives. The fund may also invest in exchange-traded products (ETPs), including exchange-traded notes (ETNs) and non-U.S. ETFs, as well as privately placed investment-type trusts trading over-the-counter.

Earlier, crypto investment bank Galaxy Digital also submitted an application to the SEC to register a Bitcoin futures ETF named "Galaxy Bitcoin Strategy ETF." According to the application file, the ETF primarily seeks capital appreciation by managing Bitcoin futures exposure rather than investing directly in Bitcoin, and may invest in Bitcoin futures products registered with the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), Toronto Stock Exchange-traded funds, and money market instruments.

Looking back further to late July this year, Goldman Sachs took an innovative approach, submitting a novel trading product application to the U.S. SEC named "Goldman Sachs Innovation DeFi and Blockchain Equity ETF," designed to track the decentralized finance and blockchain index of German financial index provider Solactive.

Surrounded by numerous competitors, the six most competitive Bitcoin ETF applicants mentioned above have also grown somewhat impatient. Just a week ago, Fidelity Investments urged the U.S. SEC to approve its submitted Bitcoin ETF in a closed-door meeting. According to public documents, Fidelity Digital Assets President Tom Jessop and multiple other executives held a video call with SEC officials on September 8. According to the meeting presentation, they listed reasons why the SEC should approve this proposed product, including increased investor interest in virtual currencies, growth in the number of Bitcoin holders, and the existence of similar funds in other countries.

Whenever mentioning the Bitcoin ETF review progress, comparisons are inevitably drawn to the December 2017 approval and listing of Bitcoin derivatives trading by CBOE and CME. As Tom Jessop listed to the SEC as a reason for approving the Bitcoin ETF application—the growth in Bitcoin holders—statistics from Glassnode seem to support Tom Jessop's view.

Changes in Number of Addresses Holding No Less Than 0.01 BTC from 2015-2021, Source: Glassnode

From the chart above, we can see that in December 2017, addresses holding no less than 0.01 BTC were approximately 6.88 million, while by September 2021, this figure had exceeded 9.1 million, representing an increase of about 32.3% over nearly four years. However, looking at growth rates from 2018 to 2021, it clearly lags behind the 179.7% growth rate seen between 2015 and 2017.

Finally, turning back to the U.S. SEC, which can determine the fate of Bitcoin ETFs. Although SEC Chairman Gary Gensler was once considered by crypto investors to be a "crypto asset supporter" and expressed optimism about expedited Bitcoin ETF approval, given his role as SEC chairman and the commission's consistently stated investor protection principles, Gary Gensler issued warnings to investors about the risks and volatility of the crypto market shortly after taking office. He stated that before approving Bitcoin ETF applications from Fidelity, Wisdom Tree, Van Eck, and others, the SEC needs to fill gaps in legal protections for crypto asset investors and improve the cryptocurrency regulatory framework. Thus, it is evident that the U.S. SEC's cautious attitude toward approving Bitcoin ETFs has not fundamentally changed, so whether we will see the SEC approve Bitcoin ETF listing and trading in the remaining three months of this year remains a significant unknown.

Disclaimer

This article may contain product-related content not applicable to your region. This article is intended solely to provide general information and assumes no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions contained herein. This article represents only the author's personal views and does not represent the views of OKX. This article is not intended to provide any advice, including but not limited to: (i) investment advice or investment recommendations; (ii) offers or solicitations to buy, sell, or hold digital assets; or (iii) financial, accounting, legal, or tax advice. Holding digital assets (including stablecoins) involves high risk, may fluctuate significantly, and may even become worthless. You should carefully consider whether trading or holding digital assets is suitable for you based on your financial situation. For questions regarding your specific situation, please consult your legal/tax/investment professional. Information appearing in this article (including market data and statistics, if any) is for general reference only. While we have taken all reasonable precautions in preparing these data and charts, we assume no responsibility for any factual errors or omissions expressed herein. © 2025 OKX. This article may be reproduced or distributed in full, or excerpts of 100 words or less from this article may be used, provided such use is non-commercial. Any reproduction or distribution of the entire article must also prominently state: "This article © 2025 OKX, used with permission." Permitted excerpts must cite the article name and include attribution, for example "Article Name, [Author Name (if applicable)], © 2025 OKX". Some content may be generated or assisted by artificial intelligence (AI) tools. Derivative works or other uses of this article are not permitted.

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