Although there have been several attempts in pushing a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), the United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) still hasn’t approved a single one. And now, another proposal is being made for the agency’s examination.
ETF veteran Jason Toussaint has collaborated with boutique asset manager Kryptoin Investment Advisors and filed an initial registration with the regulatory commission. Toussaint’s expertise in the ETF field will play an integral role in the proposal’s approval.
As the former managing director of the World Gold Council and the portfolio manager behind SPDR Gold Share, Toussaint is in a unique position to try to push the crypto space into the mainstream scene. The veteran likened the SEC’s tight regulations on the Bitcoin ETF to the commission’s stringent probing regarding the SPDR Gold Shares entering the market, CoinDesk reported.
Bitcoin ETF is a similar problem to the SPDR Gold Share dilemma
“The benefits and challenges, when it comes to Bitcoin as an asset class, are similar to what they were when the Gold Council brought SPDR Gold Shares to the market. There was also a lot of learning the SEC had to go through to fully understand and gain a level of comfort with the underlined gold market,” Toussaint said.
He also considered what happened to the previous ETF proposals and admits that it’s going to take a while before the SEC budge out of its position. If it budges at all.
SEC still wary of Bitcoin ETF due to fears about market manipulation
Meanwhile, the Wilshire Phoenix’s ETF is still pending approval from the SEC and the deadline for it is on Dec. 28. Given how everything has unfolded so far, there’s a low chance that Wilshire Phoenix’s proposal will get the greenlight.
One of the major reasons why the SEC is keeping a close eye on Bitcoin ETF is that the agency is still unconvinced that the cryptocurrency isn’t prone to manipulation. Indeed, some people are operating in the crypto sphere who fear that Bitcoin manipulation has already taken place.
Add the fact that Bitmain – one of the biggest Bitcoin miners in the world – is approaching 50 percent hash rate control and it’s understandable that the SEC is wary of these proposals. Be that as it may, ETF proposals will not be going away anytime soon as this step is considered significant progress by the crypto community that will lead to the global adoption of this new currency.
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