Bitcoin News & Update: SEC to Review ETF Rejections, Bitcoin Scams On the Rise

Bitcoin is currently hovering on the precipice of disaster, which it is staving off by simply maintaining the $6,000 safe zone. As it stands, there could be a lot of things that could tip it in either direction. One of these could be the review that the Securities and Exchange Commission will conduct with regards to recently rejected Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF). Then again, the rise in Bitcoin scams could also push the cryptocurrency over the edge and into the abyss.

Staff at the SEC recently decided to reject nine Bitcoin ETF applications from becoming available to the market, Reuters reports. The applications came from three different companies, and the reason given for the rejection is reportedly due to fraud or manipulation concerns.

It would seem that this decision has since come into question, with the commission recently deciding to open a review into the subject. This does not necessarily mean that the choice to reject the Bitcoin ETF applications was wrong. The commissioners simply have the authority to review the decisions made with regards to delegated tasks.

If ever the ETF rejection is overturned, this could have an impact on the value of Bitcoin and give it some breathing room. On the other hand, the opposite could prove true, and its value could suffer if the rejection is held.

With regards to the choice that the SEC staff made on the Bitcoin ETF, it is not surprising considering the current rise in cryptocurrency scams. It would appear that Bitcoin is a particularly popular target for crypto rip-offs, Forbes reports, which is bad news for the currency.

For context, it would seem that the first half of 2018 alone saw three times the rate in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency exchange scams compared to the whole of 2017. What’s more, experts appear to attribute this trend to money-laundering schemes.