U.S. SEC rejects SkyBridge spot bitcoin ETF in latest veto

NEW YORK, Jan 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday rejected a filing to list and trade a spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund by First Trust Advisors and SkyBridge, the hedge fund founded by former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci.

The SEC's rejection of the First Trust SkyBridge Bitcoin ETF Trust was the latest in a succession of vetoes by the regulator around the listing of spot bitcoin ETFs, which seek to provide easy exposure to the digital currency.

The SEC in October approved two bitcoin futures-based funds, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF and the Valkyrie Bitcoin Strategy ETF, raising hopes that a spot bitcoin ETF would soon be approved as well. But in November and December the regulator turned down three spot bitcoin ETF proposals.

The proposal to list the First Trust SkyBridge bitcoin ETF was filed in March by Intercontinental Exchange Inc's NYSE Arca.

The filing did not meet "the requirement that the rules of a national securities exchange be 'designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices' and 'to protect investors and the public interest,'" the SEC said. (Reporting by John McCrank; editing by Jonathan Oatis)