- Market experts collectively speak on BlackRock’s recent Bitcoin Spot ETF application; sentiments have remained mixed.
- While the CIO of Bitwise sees a positive outcome for Blackrock, the CEO and Co-founder of Opimas believes that the application is dead on arrival.
Market players in the cryptocurrency industry have spoken up about BlackRock’s recent Bitcoin Spot ETF application. After the trillion-dollar asset manager filed for a Bitcoin Spot ETF, members of the cryptocurrency community collectively shared positive sentiments about the move, as it reignited their hopes for what could be an industry-changing application.
However, many prominent figures remain unconvinced that the Spot ETF will be approved. These figures have highlighted the many roadblocks and challenges put in place by regulatory bodies, to intensify the difficulty of the approval process for any Crypto Spot-Based ETF.
In an interview with Coindesk, a handful of experts spoke on what the market should expect from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commissions, regarding the recent Bitcoin Spot ETF Filings.
Speaking to Coindesk, Matt Hougan, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) at Bitwise Asset Management shares a rather positive outlook. Hougan implies that BlackRock is too valuable a firm for the SEC or snag regulatory body to reject. The market has to “listen”, Hougan asserted.
The Bitwise CIO is not exaggerating when he emphasizes the significance of BlackRock, which is currently the world’s largest asset manager with more than $10 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
Additionally, Bernstein, a leading brokerage firm, added that the SEC’s position on a spot bitcoin (BTC) ETF cannot be sustained for much longer. As such, the possibility of gaining approval is still decently high.
Other market experts share opposing views, explaining why BlaclRock’s application might be rejected
Meanwhile, other experts like Octavio Marenzi, the CEO and Co-founder of Opimas, have remained convinced that the ETF application will gain no traction. As Marenzi asserted, the SEC has already spotted a major loophole in BlackRock’s application. Marenzi explained;
They’ve identified a custodian for the assets that the SEC itself has said is operating illegally…I don’t quite see how BlackRock makes this happen.
On the other hand, Stuart Barton, Chief Investment Officer Stuart Barton, who took part in filing Volatility Shares’ 2x Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITX), which launched as the first leveraged crypto ETF in the U.S., spoke about the delay in the approval of Bitcoin Spot ETFs. Stuart Barton asserted;
The hold-up is because of the unregulated nature of the crypto exchanges, it takes a long time for an exchange to become regulated. That is a multiyear process. That’s a step before we get to an ETF approval. At the moment, there’s no exchange on which bitcoin trades that is regulated.
Despite mixed sentiments, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock has reiterated that BlackRock is open to work with regulators and hopes that its filing will be approved in the future.
