All news is rigorously fact-checked and reviewed by leading blockchain experts and seasoned industry insiders.
- A Bitcoin ETF will not be approved by the SEC because of the risks it would pose to the U.S. economy and investors.
- A Bitwise survey of financial advisors finds demand for a Bitcoin ETF in the majority of respondents.
VanEck Associates CEO Jan van Eck said in an interview with Bloomberg TV that a Bitcoin ETF is not yet close to approval by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
A Bitcoin ETF could bring worse results than expected
VanEck has been one of the companies with a long history of filing petitions for a Bitcoin ETF with the SEC. However, its efforts have been unsuccessful. In September of last year, VanEck and SolidX withdrew their Bitcoin ETF petition for the second time. After a lengthy process, the SEC was due to make a final decision on October 18, 2019. Therefore, VanEck and SolidX’s decision could have been a strategic move to reintroduce their petition in the future.
The recent interview with VanEck’s CEO contradicts the optimistic statements of the company’s executives when the application was withdrawn. VanEck’s CEO said he believes the SEC will not give its approval in the near future and, in fact, thinks that the approval of an ETF could be risky for investors:
I don’t see a Bitcoin ETF anytime soon. So yes, the vehicles that allow (…) accredited investors to access it, that’s fine. But, still you have tens and millions of retail Americans invested in Bitcoin with no regulatory protection
This concern is shared by the SEC. Jay Clayton, president of the regulatory institution, has said that while progress has been made “there is still work to be done” before authorizing an approval. Clayton has reiterated on several occasions that applicants for a Bitcoin ETF must demonstrate that Bitcoin’s underlying markets are regulated and of sufficient size to shield them from manipulation.
You can watch the full interview with VanEck’s CEO here:
Financial advisors want a Bitcoin ETF
Another important company in Bitcoin’s long history of ETF applications is Bitwise. The company also withdrew its SEC filing in January of this year. Maut Hougan, Bitwise’s director of global research, said Bitwise would reapply in the future:
We did indeed withdraw the application. This is a procedural step, and we intend to refile our application at an appropriate time.
In a survey published by Bitwise involving 395 financial advisors, it was determined that most respondents would invest in Bitcoin through an ETF. In addition, respondents demanded better regulation to make investing comfortable and safe.
Bitcoin’s price trades at $8,483, at the time of publication, and has made a slight gain of 1.31% in the last 24 hours.
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter and don’t miss any hot news anymore! Do you like our price indices?
