The SEC has asked Bitwise to clarify how the investment firm will prevent share manipulation, fraud and other potential issues in its proposed spot bitcoin ETF, according to a notice to the company on Tuesday.

  • The agency also flagged its concerns about the Bitwise Bitcoin ETP Trust’s liquidity and transparency and requested more color on the “suitability” of bitcoin as the underlying asset for the fund.
  • The SEC’s request veered from its serial denials to date of other proposed spot Bitcoin ETPs.
  • Over the past two months, the agency has rejected applications from WisdomTree, Krypton, SkyBridge and Fidelity. It is weighing a number of other applications from investment firms.
  • Last December, the SEC delayed a decision on the spot bitcoin applications of Bitwise and Grayscale, a unit of Digital Currency Group, which is the parent company of CoinDesk.
  • Bitwise will have 21 days to respond to the SEC’s concerns.

Read more: SEC Delays Decision on Grayscale and Bitwise Spot Bitcoin ETFs