VanEck's Bitcoin Futures ETF Effort Dealt Blow By SEC

Last month, New York-based money manager VanEck had filed to create the VanEck Vectors Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which would be used to invest in "U.S. exchange-traded bitcoin-linked derivative instruments."

Yet a new letter addressed to the SEC's Division of Investment Management, VanEck assistant general counsel Matthew Babinsky indicates that officials at the agency won't consider reviewing the firm's request because of the nascent state of the derivatives market for cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. The letter explains:

"The Trust notes that on a call with the Staff on September 20, 2017, the Staff expressed the view that it is the Commission’s policy to not review a registration statement for a fund where the underlying instruments in which the fund intends to primarily invest are not yet available. The Staff requested that the Trust withdraw the Amendment until such time as the underlying instruments in which the Fund intends to primarily invest (i.e., bitcoin futures contracts) become available for investment."