Bitwise withdraws its ETF proposal for Bitcoin. The cryptocurrency asset management firm has sent a request to withdraw its proposal to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company stated that the withdrawal request is "consistent with the public interest and the protection of investors." Clearly Bitwise is losing patience, which doesn't surprise us with the rest. Matt Hougan, who is now (formerly CEO at ETF.com) one of the managing directors at Bitwise said: "We have indeed withdrawn the application. This is a procedural step and we intend to complete our application in due course. " The SEC has been throwing proverbial "stabs" at cryptocurrencies for quite some time, effectively blocking access to ETFs. It is worth mentioning that in response to Bitwise's earlier proposal regarding ETFs, the SEC sent a document containing 112 pages, mostly with questions, for Bitwise to complete. Unfortunately, the date the new filing was sent to the SEC remains unknown. In addition to the written correspondence, Bitwise has met with the SEC as many as eight times to date. Each time, the attempts have ended in complete failure. Currently, the SEC is reviewing Jay's proposal for an ETF for Bitcoin. The decision in this matter is expected to be announced by February 26 this year. It is not hard to guess what the answer will be. Obstacles to overcome It seems that the road to cryptocurrency ETFs is closed for the moment. The CFTC, on the other hand, has done its best to recognize cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum as commodities. The SEC's biggest concern, is the lack of stability in the cryptocurrency market and the vulnerability of cryptocurrencies to manipulation. Another obstacle is the upcoming US elections. American politicians are reluctant to make difficult decisions in the pre-election period. Facebook's Libra topic is a perfect example. The SEC has broader powers than any other financial oversight agency in the US. Accusations of cryptocurrency market manipulation against Bitfinex do not make this path any easier. There is still a lack of regulation that would significantly help pave the way for Bitcoin ETFs. Regulators are also worried about another cryptocurrency bubble. In their view, the previous one in 2017 was the result of manipulation. All signs on heaven and earth indicate that the chances of approval of bitcoin ETFs this year are optimistically claiming: low. Obtaining SEC approval with a high degree of probability, would cause quite a revival of the entire market. On the other hand, one would have to wonder: do cryptocurrencies really need ETFs? I think that the market itself will soon give us the answer to this question. Tags bitcoin etf bitwise ETF etf bitcoin SEC btc Securities and Exchange Commission
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