SEC Declares First Trust’s Bitcoin ETF Application “Abandoned”

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has declared that First Trust Advisors and SkyBridge Capital's spot Bitcoin ETF application has been "abandoned."

In a notice on Wednesday, the SEC said the application was abandoned because the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF failed to respond to prior communications from the regulator.

First Trust and SkyBridge Capital, the hedge fund run by Anthony Scaramucci, jointly filed a registration statement to register securities under Section 6(a) of the Securities Act of 1933. The registration has been on file for nine months but was yet to become effective.

A notification was sent to First Trust SkyBridge that the registration would be rendered abandoned if it failed to withdraw or amend the filing. No response was received.

If the ETF had been launched, fund flows could have seen a 15% increase, according to Bloomberg ETF senior analyst Eric Balchunas.

First Trust and SkyBridge first filed for a Bitcoin ETF in March 2021 but were rejected along with other unsuccessful applicants in January 2022.

Earlier this week, BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF broke records by reaching $10 billion faster than any US ETF in history. The fund reached the milestone in under two months from 11 January when the SEC greenlit Bitcoin ETFs. Invesco QQQ previously held the record of just over a year.

Bitcoin ETF Fee Cut Proves Effective as VanEck Sees Record Inflows

VanEck’s Bitcoin Trust (HODL) attracted $119 million in one day after cutting its management fee to 0%.

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Meanwhile, VanEck has experienced record daily inflows in its Bitcoin ETF after cutting its management fees.