SEC punts on approving a spot bitcoin ETF again, pushing decision on Valkyrie's fund to 2022

• The SEC extended a deadline to rule on Valkyrie's proposed ETF with spot bitcoin as its underlying asset.
• A decision on the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund is now slated for January 7, 2022.

The Securities and Exchange Commission will not make a decision on alternative asset management firm Valkyrie's proposed exchange-traded fund for spot bitcoin until early next year, according to a filing by the government agency.

The SEC pushed back a decision to January 7 on a proposed rule change that would clear the way for the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund.

"The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to issue an order approving or disapproving the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the issues raised in the comment letters that have been submitted in connection therewith," the regulator said in its November 1 filing.

Investors are still waiting to see whether the US will greenlight the first ETF with spot bitcoin as its underlying asset. Late last month, the markets greeted the first bitcoin-futures ETFs, which own bitcoin derivatives that try to match the cryptocurrency's return profile through futures contracts.

SEC Chairman Gary Gensler had favored futures-based funds over a spot bitcoin ETF, saying the Investments Company Act of 1940 provides significant investor protections for bitcoin futures-based vehicles.

Valkyrie was the second company to see its bitcoin-futures ETF, the Bitcoin Strategy ETF, launch last month. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF kicked off trading in the new type of ETFs

Meanwhile, the SEC doesn't want to approve leveraged bitcoin ETFs and asked Valkyrie to withdraw its application for such a vehicle, the Wall Street Journal reported in late October.