US regulators to review decision blocking Bitcoin ETF’s listing

FILE PHOTO - A bitcoin sticker is seen in the window of Locali Conscious Convenience store, where one of Southern California's first two bitcoin-to-cash ATMs began operating today, in Venice, Los Angeles, California, June 21, 2014. To match Special Report BITCOIN-WRIGHT/PATENTS REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson/File Photo

NEW YORK: The US Securities and Exchange Commission plans to review its decision last month to block the listing of the first US exchange-traded fund tracking the digital currency bitcoin, a regulatory filing showed on Tuesday.

A more-than-three-year effort by investors Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss to convince the SEC to allow it to bring the Bitcoin ETF to market stalled when the agency’s staff ruled against them in March.

Bitcoin is a virtual currency that can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government.

A fund holding the currency could bring more professional investors to the asset and push its price higher.

Yet bitcoin presents a new set of risks to investors given its limited adoption, a number of massive cybersecurity breaches affecting bitcoin owners and the lack of consistent treatment of the assets by governments.

Bitcoin traded up 1.7% at US$1274.99 earlier on Tuesday. The digital currency has rebounded after initially plunging following the SEC’s initial decision calling the digital currency market “unregulated.” 

CBOE Holdings Inc’s Bats exchange had applied to list the ETF and appealed to the commission to review its staff’s decision. The exchange did not immediately respond to a request for comment. - Reuters