U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Approves Then Pauses Bitwise ETF Offering Wide Crypto Exposure

The top securities regulator in the US is pausing Bitwise’s plan to convert its Bitwise 10 Crypto Index Fund (BITW) into a spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) almost immediately after approving it.

Two days ago, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) gave an “accelerated” approval of Bitwise’s proposal to convert BITW to a spot ETF.

“Pursuant to Section 19(b)(1) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (‘Exchange Act’) and Rule 19b-4 thereunder, NYSE Arca, Inc. (‘NYSE Arca’ or ‘Exchange’) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (‘Commission’) a proposed rule change, as modified by Amendment No. 1 (‘Proposal’), to amend NYSE Arca Rule 8.500-E (Trust Units) and to list and trade shares (‘Shares’) of the Bitwise 10 Crypto Index ETF (‘Trust’) under amended NYSE Arca Rule 8.500-E (Trust Units). The Proposal was subject to notice and comment.

This order approves the Proposal on an accelerated basis.”

Then, in a separate letter dated on the same day, the SEC informed Bitwise of its plan to pause, or “stay“, the accelerated approval.

“This letter is to notify you that, pursuant to Rule 431 of the Commission’s Rules of Practice, 17 CFR 201.431, the Commission will review the delegated action. In accordance with Rule 431(e), the July 22, 2025 order is stayed until the Commission orders otherwise.”

Experts speculate that the SEC might be putting the ETF approval plans on pause while it aims to establish standards across different crypto ETFs.

The current BITW fund is 90 focused on Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), with the remaining 10 being spread across eight large-cap digital assets.