SEC seeks public input on Franklin Templeton, Hashdex Bitcoin ETFs

cointelegraph.com:

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission has announced the next steps in its consideration of the proposed Franklin Templeton and Hashdex spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) bids.

The agency has requested written comments on both proposals to approve or deny the applicants’ Forms 19b-4.

SEC Form 19b-4 is a public disclosure approved by the SEC Trading and Markets Division separately from Form S-1, the offering prospectus subject to Corporate Finance Division approval. The SEC’s requests have an open period of 35 days from their publication in the Federal Register for both comments and responses to comments.

The proposed rule changes — effectively applications — that would allow the trading of the ETFs were filed in late September. The Hashdex ETF would be traded on the New York Stock Exchange Arca and Franklin Templeton’s on Cboe BZX. On Nov. 15, the SEC extended its deadline for deciding on the applications.

Related: Binance, CZ settlement with US DOJ ‘bullish for Bitcoin ETF,’ crypto community says

The questions address issues related to potential ETF approval. Commenters are invited to assess the funds’ susceptibility to manipulation and whether or not the exchanges that will host them are of significant size.

Franklin Templeton commenters are further asked to consider price manipulation on the BTC market, the company’s surveillance sharing agreement with Coinbase, which would aid in price discovery and supplement efforts to detect manipulation and fraud, and correlation between BTC spot and futures prices.

SEC extends comment window for Franklin Templeton and Hashdex #Bitcoin ETFs pic.twitter.com/aEYTa5Yg1n

Hashdex’s proposed fund structure is more complex than Franklin Templeton’s. Its