Bitcoin ETF to be Approved Eventually: SEC Commissioner

By Swati Kishore

A leaked interview with the publishing company Congressional Quarterly has revealed that one of the commissioners of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Robert J. Jackson, is of the belief that Bitcoin Exchanged-Traded Fund will be approved in time to come.

According to the interview on February 7, 2019, Jackson does not doubt that the SEC will adopt Bitcoin ETF. According to the commissioner, now, it is only a matter of when it is accepted.

The interview spread across the internet after the Congressional Quarterly shared the draft copies on social media. The full interview with Jackson is slated to be published by the media outlet on February 11, 2019.

In the interview, Jackson revealed that the SEC has received a slew of applications for cryptocurrency-based exchange-traded funds. He, however, did not elaborate on which application has the highest chance of approval by the securities regulator.

Industry experts regard the application filed by VanEckSolidX as having the most chances of getting the thumb of approval.

The interview reads,

“Eventually, do I think someone will satisfy the standards that we’ve laid out there? I hope so, yes, and I think so.”

Jackson went on to elaborate in the interview the reason for the difficulty in getting an approval from the SEC.

He even talked about Winklevoss’s ETF proposal. Jackson said,

“Would I have wanted them to be able to buy that ETF? Hell no hell no. And I might not be sitting here if my father had, so yeah, I take really seriously putting the American stamp of approval on any investment product, and I’m not going to do it until those questions get answered.”

Scams and fraud have become a part and parcel of dealing in cryptocurrencies, however, such instances have led to investors losing their confidence.

In an effort to protect the unsuspecting investors from such scams financial watchdogs across the world have decided to form regulations surrounding the use of cryptocurrency.

In such a scenario, it is essential that the SEC treads the waters with caution. Hence, the difficulty in getting Bitcoin ETF’s approval can be explained by the cautionary measures taken by the securities regulator.

Crypto industry experts are of the view that a Bitcoin ETF launch will lead to a Bitcoin bull run. As Bitcoin’s price is mostly based on speculation, any approval from the SEC is destined to trigger a surge in its prices.