09/10/2018 Photo (c) znm - Getty Images The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has suspended trading of two crypto-based securities -- Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One. The regulator said that based on the application materials and trading websites, the securities were characterized as exchange-traded funds (ETFs). However, the SEC cited the products’ issuer in noting that the securities are “non-equity linked certificates;” the regulator has halted trading of the two products until September 20. “It appears...that there is a lack of current, consistent, accurate information concerning Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One, issued by XBT provider AB, a Swedish company headquartered in Stockholm, resulting in confusion amongst market participants regarding these financial instruments,” the SEC wrote in a statement. “The Commission is of the opinion that the public interest and the protection of investors require a suspension of trading in the securities of the above quoted company.” Both securities are currently listed on the Stockholm stock exchange as part of Nasdaq’s Nordic markets. The SEC says it is remaining vigilant in its suspension and is warning brokers over complying with the requirements. “If any broker or dealer enters any quotation which is in violation of the rule, the Commission will consider the need for prompt enforcement action,” the statement adds. Remaining hopeful for an ETF Investors have remained hopeful that the SEC will grant ETF status to a cryptocurrency, but they have been met with nothing but delays and rejections. Most recently, the Commission blocked another round of Bitcoin-backed ETFs at the end of last month. The agency was most concerned about prices and the potential for manipulation, as well as fraud the vulnerability of the crypto market. Earlier last month, the SEC delayed a ruling on a proposed Bitcoin ETF, ultimately driving the cost of Bitcoin down. Bitcoin fell nearly 10 percent to just under $6,500 -- the lowest level since July 16. At the time, an approval from the SEC would’ve undoubtedly raised the value of Bitcoin. “A green light for the Bitcoin ETF would fire the starting gun on a race among institutional investors to cash-in on this new product, so the market is rightly frustrated by the delay to decision,” said Matthew Newton, an analyst at the investment platform eToro. The agency will not be making a decision until September 30.<doc-sep>FILE PHOTO - High-end graphic cards are installed in a cryptocurrency mining computer at a computer mall in Hong Kong, China January 29, 2018. REUTERS/Bobby Yip/File Photo NEW YORK (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Sunday it was immediately suspending trading in two investment products that track cryptocurrencies, citing confusion in the markets over whether the products are exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The SEC said in a statement that trading in Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One would be halted in the United States until at least Sept. 20. The products promise to track the price of the cryptocurrencies, less fees. They are both listed on a Nasdaq Inc NDAQ.O exchange in Stockholm, but trade "over the counter" in transactions that occur off exchanges within the United States. “It appears ... that there is a lack of current, consistent and accurate information,” the SEC said in a notice posted on its website. “Application materials submitted to enable the offer and sale of these financial products in the United States, as well as certain trading websites, characterize them as ‘Exchange Traded Funds.’” The issuer of Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One, XBT Provider AB SE0010296574.ST and its parent company, did not immediately respond to emailed requests for comment. Nasdaq declined to comment. The SEC has taken a strict stance against letting ETFs tracking bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies come to market. But investment firms have been pushing other types of investments that attempt to make it as easy to trade cryptocurrencies as a regular stock. Those products are sometimes called ETFs, but that term generally refers to a different and often more stringently regulated product. Some industry experts, including the largest ETF provider BlackRock Inc BLK.N, have called for regulators to standardize the terms used to describe ETFs and other kinds of investment products. Virtual currency, including bitcoin and ether, can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government. A fund holding the currency could attract more investors and push its price higher.<doc-sep>US regulators banned trading of XBT Provider’s Bitcoin and Ether Tracker One securities Sunday, September 9, briefly sending cryptocurrency markets tumbling. Citing “confusion” among investors, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued a notice that two exchange-traded notes (ETNs) – Bitcoin Tracker One (“CXBTF”) and Ether Tracker One (“CETHF”) – would cease trading until September 20. “The Commission temporarily suspended trading in the securities CXBTF and CETHF because of confusion amongst market participants regarding these instruments,” the SEC’s statement reads, continuing: “[T]he Commission cautions broker-dealers, shareholders, and prospective purchasers that they should carefully consider the foregoing information along with all other currently available information and any information subsequently issued by the company.” XBT Provider has operated Bitcoin Tracker One since May 2015 when it became the first bitcoin-based ETN available on a regulated exchange, debuting on Sweden’s NASDAQ. Ether Tracker One joined in October 2017, reaching the same milestone, while XBT has since also released Bitcoin and Ether Tracker Euro options. The SEC meanwhile warned brokers over strict compliance requirements in enforcing its latest temporary ban. “If any broker or dealer enters any quotation which is in violation of the rule, the Commission will consider the need for prompt enforcement action,” the statement adds. The SEC’s move comes amid a testing time for cryptocurrency investors versus the U.S. regulatory establishment, the regulator having recently rejected a slew applications for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The SEC’s most recent rejection in late August barely impacted markets, commentators since arguing that the appearance of a crypto ETF is likely guaranteed at some point in the future and is in itself a mixed blessing for Bitcoin. Bitcoin is currently at $6,300, up 1.59 percent on the day to press time. Ethereum is still trading just below $200, a level it slipped under this weekend for the first time since November, 2017.<doc-sep>
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it has suspended trading in two investment products that track cryptocurrencies because there is confusion as to whether they are exchange-traded funds (ETFs). The suspension in trading of Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One, which both claim to track the price of cryptocurrencies, will be in place in the US until at least September 20. Both are listed on a Nasdaq exchange in Stockholm, and trade “over the counter” in transactions that occur off exchanges within the United States. “It appears ... that there is a lack of current, consistent and accurate information,” the SEC said in a notice, according to Reuters. “Application materials submitted to enable the offer and sale of these financial products in the United States, as well as certain trading websites, characterize them as ‘exchange-traded funds.’” The issuer of Bitcoin Tracker One and Ether Tracker One did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while Nasdaq declined to comment. The SEC has gotten tougher when it comes to crypto in the past year. In March the agency announced there were “potentially unlawful” systems operating that allow the trading of cryptocurrencies, adding that several online trading platforms should be registered with the SEC itself. In addition, the commission issued potentially dozens of requests for information and subpoenas from companies who have dipped, or are dipping, corporate toes in the initial coin offerings (ICO) pool. And in June, the SEC’s leading authority on bitcoin, cryptocurrency and initial coin offerings (ICOs) ruled that some well-known cryptocurrencies like bitcoin and Ethereum are not securities. However, the coins offered during initial coin offerings very likely are entirely — or mostly — securities. “Central to determining whether a security is being sold is how it is being sold and the reasonable expectations of purchasers,” William Hinman, head of the Division of Corporate Finance for the SEC, said at the time.