One of the reasons for the increase in the price of Bitcoin this week is the anticipation of crypto-related ETFs. There are different applications that investors are currently looking into. However, Winklevoss Twins didn’t get the result that they hoped from the US Securities and Exchange Commission. This is already the second time that the Winklevoss twins’ application for Bitcoin ETF was denied by the agency.
However, this isn’t the most significant ETF application that has gotten the attention of Bitcoin investors. On June 6, VanEck and SolidX have announced that they are applying for SEC’s approval on their own version of Bitcoin ETF. This has triggered a series of discussions among experts.
What Experts Think
According to the founder of Netcoins, Michael Vogel, he mentioned that Bitcoin ETF is actually “an interesting idea”. Though he thinks that it’s an interesting idea, Vogel doesn’t believe that a Bitcoin ETF would even matter to the long term success of Bitcoin.
Why do people really think ETF is a big deal? There are those who are thinking that it is a step towards legitimizing Bitcoin especially in the eyes of institutional investors. This would put Bitcoin mainly as a trading instrument for its investors. In addition to this, Vogel mentioned that it also expresses the comfort level of regulators when it comes to Bitcoin.
He said that “A large ETF would likely have a significant impact on Bitcoin prices as well, not just due to trading volume but simply because of the volume of Bitcoin that it would remove from the liquid trading market (because the BTC would need to be permanently held by the ETF corporation)”.
The founder of Trezor and business strategy advisor for different cryptocurrency companies thinks that ETF is a necessity in order to develop Bitocin. She has noted that it will trigger a substantial mass of new investors especially those who believe that regulatory approval is a must to consider Bitcoin legitimate.
She said that: “Everyone who wants to hodl on, please make sure your bitcoin is safe against hackers, because their interest will skyrocket too. I’d recommend to abandon any custodian service, set up some of the proven hardware wallets (TREZOR or Ledger), set up a non-custodian multisig wallet (such as CASA) and read Pamela Morgan’s book on crypto asset inheritance.”
SEC’s Door Still Open
If there’s anything that the US Securities and Exchange Commission proved in the last few months, it’s the reality that it is open to the crypto industry. It has considered both Bitcoin and Ethereum not as securities. In addition to this, though the SEC has concerns over market manipulation and surveillance when it comes to Bitcoin ETFs, it also mentioned that “over time, regulated bitcoin-related markets may continue to grow and develop”. And this statement is an indication that it’s open to approving such type of product in the future.
Could there be an ETF that is going to be approved in the coming months? In case this happens, it could mean another bull-run for Bitcoin. And in this scenario, there is a chance that it could even get bigger than last year.
