The SEC is implacable. It will not have a spot bitcoin ETF.

The ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF, jointly created by ARK Investments and 21Shares, has been rejected by the SEC, the latest in a long line of spot bitcoin ETF hopefuls that have been shown the door by the regulator. (The Block)

Filed in June 2021, the application was later backed by the Cboe BZX Exchange with a rule change for permission to list. The SEC kept the application pending, through multiple extensions, and finally delivered its rejection decision near the end of the statutory time limit.

On the grounds for rejection, the SEC rewound and played back the same tape as earlier ill-fated applications:

“The Commission concludes that BZX 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.’”

Earlier this month, the SEC had rejected proposals to list and trade shares of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) NYDIG Bitcoin ETF and Global X Bitcoin Trust.

However, later this year, matters could come to a head when Grayscale Investments’ application for conversion of its bitcoin trust into an ETF comes up for the SEC’s decision.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein has made clear on a recent Bloomberg interview in so many words that if push comes to shove, he would not hesitate to haul the SEC to court if the application is rejected.

Related Story: Grayscale’s Sonnenshein Prepared To Take Legal Recourse If SEC Nixes GBTC’s ETF Conversion