SEC Declares First Trust & SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Proposal Abandoned After Months of Inactivity

After several months of inactivity, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has officially declared the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF application as "abandoned."

SEC Announcement

In a notable announcement made on March 12, 2024, the SEC ordered the abandonment of the registration statement for the spot Bitcoin ETF proposed by First Trust and SkyBridge. This decision was shared in a screenshot by Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg. The SEC's directive came after First Trust and SkyBridge had jointly filed a registration statement under Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, aiming to register their securities.

Read More: Bitcoin Spot ETF Reached $57 Billion AUM, BlackRock Increases Holdings

9 Months Without Action 

Prior to this declaration, the application had lingered for nine months without approval, sitting unattended on the SEC's desk. The SEC had previously informed First Trust SkyBridge that their registration statement would be considered abandoned if no further action was taken to either withdraw or amend their filing. Unfortunately, no subsequent communication was received from the applicants.

This inaction led to the SEC's decision to abandon the application. It's important to note that this was not the First Trust & SkyBridge’s first attempt at listing a spot Bitcoin ETF. Their application was rejected by the SEC in 2022, alongside several others, following an initial bid to list on the New York Stock Exchange in March 2021.

The Reason Behind Abandonment of SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Application 

The reasons behind the abandonment of the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF application remain unclear. However, had it been approved, it might have capitalized on the exceptional performance seen from other spot Bitcoin ETF issuers in January, including BlackRock, which has continued to highlight the growing interest in the burgeoning ecosystem.

Read More: BNB Price Up 27.3% in the Last 7 Days

Spot Bitcoin Inflow

Recently, there was a significant increase in the total weekly net inflows into spot Bitcoin ETFs, amounting to $2.23 billion.

Notably, BlackRock's IBIT and Fidelity's FBTC were among the contributors to this influx, with Fidelity's FBTC registering approximately $700 million in inflows on March 12. BlackRock's IBIT, in particular, experienced a substantial net inflow of $2.07 billion over the week, surpassing the Bitcoin holdings of MicroStrategy. Among the ten spot Bitcoin ETFs available, BlackRock has consistently led in terms of both inflow volume and trading activity.

This increased investment in spot Bitcoin ETFs has coincided with a rise in Bitcoin's price, with the cryptocurrency reaching a new high above $72,000.