SEC Orders SkyBridge Capital to Withdraw Its Bitcoin ETF Application

• The SEC has ordered SkyBridge Capital to withdraw its Bitcoin ETF, First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust.
• The regulators mark the firm as failing to make timely amendments to the application.
• Eric Balchunas asserts that if the SEC approved the application, the ETF would have contributed to a 15% hike in inflow.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has ordered the capital investment management company SkyBridge Capital to withdraw their Bitcoin ETF, First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust. In a recent X post, ICO Drops revealed the SEC’s move to abandon SkyBridge Capital’s Bitcoin ETF.

According to the filing, SkyBridge’s Bitcoin ETF registration has been on file for over nine months and hasn’t become effective yet. Pointing out the firm’s failure to make timely amendments, the SEC ordered that “the registration statement be declared abandoned on March 12, 2024.” The filing added,

First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust has failed to respond to notice under Rule 479 that the registration statement would be declared abandoned unless it was timely amended or withdrawn.

In March 2021, SkyBridge Capital’s Anthony Scaramucci applied to offer a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund known by the name First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust. The main objective of the ETF was reportedly “to reflect the performance of Bitcoin less (its) liabilities and expenses.” Along with many other failed projects, SkyBridge’s filing was rejected by the SEC in January 2022. However, the firm didn’t reapply for the ETF launch.

Eric Balchunas, a Senior ETF Researcher on Bloomberg, also took to X to comment on the SEC’s declaration of SkyBridge Capital’s ETF as “abandoned.” He stated that the reason behind the SEC’s decision remains unclear. However, he added that if the SEC approved the ETF launch, First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust would have contributed to increasing the fund inflows, potentially by 15%.