Cboe has resubmitted five Bitcoin ETF applications with amendments that include surveillance-sharing agreements (SSAs) with Coinbase, in line with the SEC’s recommendations to prevent fraud and protect investors.
Cboe Global Markets, the exchange operator, has made changes to the spot Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) applications for Invesco, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, and the joint fund by ARK Invest and 21Shares. These amendments now incorporate surveillance-sharing agreements with Coinbase.
The amended filings, submitted to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on July 11, indicate that Cboe has “reached an agreement on terms with Coinbase” for the SSAs. The settlement for these agreements was finalized on June 21. The initial filings for the ETFs had mentioned that the parties were anticipating entering into an SSA before potentially offering the ETFs.
The inclusion of surveillance-sharing agreements is an effort to comply with the SEC’s standards, which aim to prevent fraudulent activities and safeguard investors. The regulator had outlined these requirements on March 10, stating that an exchange must have a “comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to the underlying or reference bitcoin assets.”
Spot Bitcoin ETF applications have garnered significant attention in the industry recently. Following the footsteps of BlackRock, a $10 trillion asset management firm that filed an ETF for SEC approval, Fidelity, Invesco, Wisdom Tree, and Valkyrie all submitted their respective filings. Furthermore, on June 29, Nasdaq, the U.S. stock exchange, also refiled its application to list BlackRock’s ETF, incorporating an SSA with Coinbase as well.
Cboe’s amended filings had a positive impact on Coinbase (COIN) shares, resulting in an approximately 10% increase on June 11. This surge marked their highest price since August 16, as reported by Google Finance.
Despite being involved in Bitcoin ETF applications, Coinbase is currently engaged in a legal battle with the SEC. The regulator alleges that Coinbase offered cryptocurrencies that it considers to be unregistered securities. This lawsuit adds another layer of complexity to Coinbase’s operations.
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