Bitwise ETF Gets Green Light, Then Halted by SEC Review

The SEC’s Division of Trading and Markets gave what it called "accelerated approval" for the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund to change its structure to an ETF.

This type of approval would have let Bitwise ask the SEC to make its registration effective sooner than usual.

Did you know?

Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?

Subscribe - We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!

What is a Smart Contract? (Explained with Animations)

SUBSCRIBE

ON YOUTUBE

However, that approval did not stand for long. SEC Assistant Secretary Sherry Haywood said the order was "stayed until the Commission orders otherwise" and confirmed that the Commission itself would review the decision.

Bitwise launched the index fund, which trades under the ticker BITW, to give investors exposure to a mix of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin BTC $118,336.52 and Ethereum ETH $3,603.12 .

Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated on X that the fund "cannot actually convert it into an ETF yet" because it had been" held up by either one or multiple commissioners".

He added that the SEC acted earlier than expected, as a decision wasn’t due until next week.

Scott Johnsson, a partner at Van Buren Capital, also shared on X that the approval came "under delegated authority" and speculated this was done to avoid interference from Caroline Crenshaw, the sole Democrat on the SEC.

He also suggested the pause might be a way for the agency to stretch the standard 240-day review period.

Meanwhile, House Republicans recently proposed a 7% cut to the SEC’s 2026 budget by reducing it to $2.03 billion. What did the House say? Read the full story.