The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has, once again, rejected a spot bitcoin ETF application. It was filed earlier by the investment management company First Trust Advisors and the hedge fund SkyBridge led by Anthony Scaramucci.

In a statement published on Thursday (January 20, 2022), the SEC said the reason for the rejection was that they failed to meet the requirements.

According to an excerpt from the SEC document:

“Because NYSE Arca has not demonstrated that its proposed rule change is designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, the Commission must disapprove the proposal.”

Back in March 2021, SkyBridge partnered with First Trust to file a Bitcoin ETF application with the SEC. On May 25, the Commission began an official review of the ETF proposal.

Later in July, the SEC first postponed its decision on the application till August 25, with another delay happening in November 2021.

A statement from the SEC document said:

“The Commission further concludes that NYSE Arca has not established that it has a comprehensive surveillance-sharing agreement with a regulated market of significant size related to bitcoin.”

Meanwhile, the SEC’s latest rejection is not surprising, given that the agency is yet to greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF product. In December, the securities watchdog disapproved an application by Valkyrie and Kryptoin. NYDIG’s proposal has been delayed until March 16, 2022.

However, the SEC seems to show a preference for ETFs that track bitcoin futures. ProShares made history as the company with the first approved futures-backed Bitcoin ETF in the United States. Others have come from VanEck and Valkyrie.