The US government is currently shutdown. This is one of the longest shutdowns of the US government ever in history. While President Trump tries to firmly defend his position on the future “Wall”, the US government shutdown is affecting the number one cryptocurrency by market cap – Bitcoin.
While there may be little correlation between politics and cryptocurrencies, there are repercussions of the US government “not working”. The fact is that cryptocurrencies are now in a very volatile place, since the industry is trying to get regulatory approval, which is usually a lengthy process.
As reported by Crypto Daily, CBOE has approached the Securities and Exchange Commission for approval to list and trade a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund called the VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust. The decision on the application, however, is being postponed, with the explanation that there is a timing issue related to the US government shutdown.
While there is no guarantee that the Bitcoin ETF will get approved, even after all regulatory procedures are passed, there is still some hope. If this happens, the cryptocurrency community will have its first Bitcoin ETF. It seems that the battle for this financial “instrument” has been in place forever, as so many investors have tried and submitted applications for a Bitcoin ETF.