Cathie Wood: SEC Rejecting ARK Invest Spot Bitcoin ETF 'Makes No Sense'

Cathie Wood, founder and CIO of ARK Investment Management, thinks the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) decision to reject a spot Bitcoin BTC/USD exchange-traded fund (ETF) “makes no sense.”

What Happened: Wood made an appearance at the FTX/SALT Crypto Bahamas conference on Wednesday, Decrypt reported, where she addressed the regulator’s decision to reject ARK’s bid for a Bitcoin ETF earlier this month.

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

If approved, the ARK Invest 21 Shares Bitcoin ETF would have been the first spot BTC ETF to trade on a U.S. exchange. ARK partnered with 21 Shares to sponsor the fund and named Coinbase Global Inc COIN as its custodian.

"We will reapply," said Wood, adding: "I find it fascinating they have approved the Bitcoin futures and not the underlying. It just doesn't make sense to me, especially considering the fees associated with that kind of ETF."

See Also: Grayscale Points Out SEC's Inconsistency In Bitcoin Stop ETF Rejections

In October, the SEC approved the first Bitcoin futures ETF – the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF BITO. Many industry watchers speculated that a spot Bitcoin ETF approval would soon follow, but so far, the regulator has rejected every application in the pipeline.

Price Action: According to data from Benzinga Pro, BTC was trading at $39,400, up 2.71% over 24 hours.

Photo courtesy: Ark Investment