The news of the day is that Cboe BZX Exchange officially withdrew its Bitcoin ETF application. It was filed in June and the withdrawal became official on January 22. The SEC website made it official through a letter that was published.
According to Eduardo Aleman, SEC deputy secretary, the reason for the withdrawal was the current US government shutdown.
What needs to be said is that this ETF application was of high interest for Bitcoin traders. Many wanted to see the evolution as they said they are much more likely to make investments in an SEC approved ETF. Even so, Jay Clayton, SEC chairman, says that the Bitcoin ETF is so far just a story and that it will not happen anytime soon. This is because of the fact that cryptocurrency is a part of a market that is really hard for the SEC to take into account for an ETF. He declared:
What investors expect is that trading in the commodity that underlies the ETF makes sense and is free from the risk of manipulation.
There are numerous reports about companies that are interested in launching Bitcoin ETFs, including Bakkt, Gemini and Coinbase. The application that was withdrew right now was among those that were seen as having a higher chance of succeeding.
The Bitwise Asset Management Team declared that most US investors wait for the Bitcoin ETF to be launched in order to start doing work in the cryptocurrency market. The ETF simply adds validation to the industry that actually needs it. The team declared:
We recently commissioned a formal survey of 150 financial advisors, and a strong majority – 58% – said that an ETF would be their preferred way to invest. When asked what would make them more comfortable allocating to crypto in client portfolios, 54% said “better regulation” and 35% said “the launch of an ETF.
This holds true for many family offices and institutions as well.
Right now, we do not have full regulation almost anywhere in the world. This practically means that many cryptocurrency companies work in countries where their activities are tolerated, like Estonia and Malta. Keep in mind that even Binance, a huge player in the industry, ended up relocating to Malta. The launch of a Bitcoin ETF would be huge for the entire industry but we do seem to be way off of this.
