A proposal for a bitcoin exchange-traded fund that incorporates the purchase of carbon credits in an effort to make it carbon-neutral has been rejected by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
In a May 27 statement, the SEC said that the proposed rule change that would have cleared the product for a listing on the NYSE Arca exchange “has not met its burden under the Exchange Act and the Commission’s Rules of Practice to demonstrate that its proposal is consistent with the requirements of Exchange Act Section 6(b)(5), and in particular, the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” and “to protect investors and the public interest.”
As indicated by that language, the SEC is applying the same reasoning with which it has pushed back on numerous spot bitcoin ETFs.
The One River Carbon Neutral Bitcoin Trust was first proposed last May, as The Block previously reported. An amended prospectus was submitted in September, public records show.
