Crypto Prices Plunge as SEC Postpones Bitcoin ETF Decision

Investing.com – Cryptocurrencies prices plunged on Wednesday, with Ripple down more than 16% after the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) postponed a decision on the listing of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Bitcoin slumped 6.4% to $6,522.8 at 12:20AM ET (04:20 GMT) on the Bitifinex exchange.  

Ethereum fell 8.3% to $374.39 on the Bitifinex exchange.  

Ripple plunged 16.0% to $0.35316 in the last 24 hours on the Poloniex exchange, while Litecoin also lost 11.1% to $66.283.  

The SEC would decide whether to allow the fund from VanEck Associates Corp and Solid Partners Inc to list by the end of September, according to a statement on Wednesday. An initial deadline was due to expire next week.

“Accordingly, the Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act,6 designates September 30, 2018, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change,” the SEC said.

The authorities denied an exchange’s request to list a similar fund run by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss in July.

Traders had previously hoped the proposals from VanEck was more likely to be approved as it has plans for a higher minimum share price that some believe would discourage retail investors and insurance, according to Bloomberg.

Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies prices received some support in the previous session amid reports that U.K.-based bank Barclays (LON:BARC) is exploring how it can trade cryptocurrencies.

Two employees are working on a project to integrate virtual currencies into the banks trading operations, according to their LinkedIn (NYSE:LNKD) profiles, Barrons reported, although Coinbase later reported that Barclays said it has no plans at the moment to build a digital coin trading desk.

Other financial institutions are also looking into using cryptocurrencies and blockchain, the technology behind digital coins. On Monday, news broke that Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) is exploring ways to offer custody for crypto funds.