The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delayed its decision on the True Social Bitcoin Exchange Transaction Fund (ETF) proposed on Monday, extending the screening deadline from August 4th to September 18th.
The Trump Media and Technology Group-backed fund seeks approval to list the true social bitcoin ETFs of NYSE Arca Exchange based on the SEC product-based trust sharing framework.
Institutions that could take up to 270 days to approve or reject an ETF application said they would extend the review period to assess more time to evaluate proposals and issues raised.
The SEC continues to pay attention
The Trump-backed Bitcoin ETF was not the only fund facing delays from the SEC today. The agency also postponed its decision on Grayscale’s Solana Trust, extended until October 10th, and proposed by Canary Capital.
SEC commissioner Hester Perth was called “Cryptomama” because of her procryptostance and recently urged industry stakeholders to expect slow approval. “People need to be patient… We’re bringing some continuing lawsuits that we’re trying to tackle. We have many other considerations,” she said in an interview with Bloomberg in May.
Still, today’s delays are quick by historical standards. It took the SEC over a decade since its first spot Bitcoin ETF application in 2013 for its SEC to finally approve it in January 2024.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbyvwy_br7q
Questions about Trump ETFs
If approved, the true social bitcoin ETF will be the first crypto ETF related to the business interests of the US president sitting. While the ETF itself has not made any formal disputes from the SEC, other Trump-related crypto transactions have raised questions about ethics, influence and regulatory fairness, particularly among Democrats.
In May, Senator Elizabeth Warren and Jeff Merckley sent a formal letter to the Government Ethics Bureau of crypto transactions related to Trump, including companies from around the world, including Liberty Financial, Binance and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
They wrote,
The deal raises the troubling prospect that Trump and Witkov’s families can expand their use of stubcoins as a means to benefit from foreign corruption. ”
There are also concerns that Trump could personally benefit from regulatory decisions that affect the crypto market or the companies associated with his business venture, particularly if the SEC approves a financial product that justifies or increases the demand for assets associated with his brand.
Trump has been actively involved in the crypto industry since he took office. On July 18th, he signed the Genius Act, the first major US law to provide a clear regulatory framework for stable ones.
On June 25th, Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Financial Assistance (FHFA) William J. Plute issued the directives of Fannie May and Freddie Mac to prepare proposals to prepare private cryptocurrency holdings, treating them as potentially eligible assets in the holding of single-family mortgages.
Magazine: There is a risk that other countries are “front run” with Bitcoin reserve – Samson Moh
