VanEck Criticizes the SEC over Delayed Response on a Proposal to List Options Trading

Matthew Sigel, the head of digital assets research at VanEck, has criticized the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over a delayed response

Matthew Sigel, the head of digital assets research at VanEck, expressed frustration over the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) delayed response on a proposal to list options trading on the firm’s Bitcoin ETF.

In an X post on Wednesday, Sigel tagged Hester Pierce, the Head of the SEC’s Crypto Task Force, highlighting that the Commission had issued a delayed response on Cboe’s proposal to list trading options on the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL) with no comments or feedback.

The Chicago Board of Exchange (Cboe) filed a proposed rule change to list options trading on the asset management firm’s flagship cryptocurrency exchange-traded fund (ETF), which is also known as the DeFi ETF, on April 3. The options trading would grant investors the right to buy and sell Bitcoin at a specific price before a certain date.

Following the resounding success of the US Bitcoin Spot ETFs, which saw the SEC approve several in August, options trading became a potential mode of market expansion, with several asset managers submitting applications to offer options to their respective ETFs.

The SEC has already granted approval for this request for multiple Bitcoin ETFs, including the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC), and the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB), among others.

However, following the initial 45-day review, the Commission has decided to delay a response on Cboe’s proposal to list trading options on the VanEck Bitcoin ETF (HODL).

This decision was described by Sigel as “frustrating” and offered no transparency to investors.

While tagging Pierce, the Exec complained that the Commission had issued a delayed response while offering no comments or feedback along with this decision.

This was the first decision date, so it has not been rejected, just delayed, even though the SEC’s initial comments were addressed. It’s the lack of any feedback that is particularly irksome…

— Matthew Deep Value Siegel (@Matthew_Sigel) May 23, 2024

The VanEck Exec further explained the asset manager’s objection to this development while responding to a user comment. He said.

“It’s the first decision date and it has been postponed. It also seems like they're not planning to provide any feedback on their decision despite making suggestions for improvement in their initial comments.”

It is highly worth noting that delayed responses by the SEC have been quite a common response for digital assets ETF-related proposals. The Commission can choose to wait till the final decision deadline, i.e., 240 days after the application, as seen with the Bitcoin Spot ETFs in 2024.

However, Sigel’s concerns stem from an absence of an explanation on this delayed ruling, especially considering that options trading has been approved for certain other Bitcoin Spot ETFs.

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $108,349, reflecting gains of 5.23% and 17.71% in the past seven and 30 days, respectively.