Bitwise ETF Gets Green Light, Then Halted by SEC Review

Crypto News Market News

Written by Aaron S.,

Editor-In-Chief

Last Updated: July 23, 2025

Key Takeaways

Bitwise's ETF conversion was approved on July 22, then paused the same day for further SEC review;
The approval was granted under delegated authority but was stayed by commissioners before taking effect;
Some analysts say the delay may be political or a tactic to extend the 240-day review deadline.

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Bitwise ETF Gets Green Light, Then Halted by SEC Review

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On July 22, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved Bitwise’s plan to turn its cryptocurrency index fund into an exchange-traded fund (ETF), only to stop the process later in the same day.

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.

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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 $90,063.76 and Ethereum ETH $3,187.47 .

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.