Companies that have filed applications with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch cryptocurrency ETFs are disappointed with the recent speech by SEC Chairman Gary Gensler.
Previously, many firms awaiting approval for the launch of exchange-traded funds for bitcoin hoped that with the arrival of Gensler as chairman of the SEC, the department would give the green light to this investment product. However, after a recent talk by Gensler at the Aspen Security Forum, it became clear that he has little enthusiasm for Bitcoin ETFs. He paid more attention to bitcoin futures contracts traded on stock exchanges.
The agency has been slow to approve these investment products due to concerns about market manipulation. Gensler likely prefers cryptocurrency futures, as this market is regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), while cryptocurrency spot trading is not controlled by either the CFTC or the SEC.
Gabor Gurbacs, director of digital asset strategy at VanEck, believes Bitcoin ETFs are more efficient than futures-based fund structures. Gurbucks argues that futures contracts are too expensive for issuers and investors, and in general, the futures market is less liquid than the spot market, where traders buy and sell BTC directly.
The SEC has repeatedly postponed consideration of VanEck’s application to launch a Bitcoin ETF. In May, the investment firm approached the regulator for permission to launch an Ether-linked ETF.
“Regulators should allow market participants to choose products on their own, rather than support structures that, in their opinion, better protect investors,” Gurbax said.
ETF analyst at Bloomberg James Seyffart said ETFs pegged to Bitcoin futures are not at all what American cryptocurrency investors are expecting. According to him, people are not interested in gaining access to bitcoin futures, they need access to physical bitcoin.
“After all, bitcoin ETFs have already been launched in Canada and other countries. The traditional financial instruments in the United States that investors use to access bitcoin are ineffective and expensive, even if it is the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. It seems that the SEC does not take this into account and is making a mistake. Even if bitcoin is indeed manipulated, it will affect ETFs tied to bitcoin futures, as such manipulations will affect the futures market, ”Seyffart said.
However, Christopher Matta, president of 3iQ Digital Assets, is optimistic and believes that even the adoption of “futures ETFs” would be a small step to bring American investors closer to the main goal. Recently, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce urged the agency to speed up adoption of crypto ETFs, otherwise the US could lag behind other countries on this issue.
