- James Seyffart of Bloomberg Intelligence believes that October will see the approval of the first Bitcoin ETF in America.
- He hinges his belief in the SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s positive comments on futures-based Bitcoin ETF.
- Applications continue to pour in amid rising optimism in the community.
Cryptocurrency investors are brimming with confidence that the time is ripe for the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the US. The ball remains in the SEC’s court but several pieces are already falling in place that make an October approval to be a plausible bet.
Bitcoin-Futures ETF Is The New Formula
After nearly eight years since the first application of a Bitcoin ETF by Gemini Trust and several rejections by the SEC, investor confidence is at an all-time high that October will bring an approval. James Seyffart, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence shares the similar opinion that he is “pretty bullish on approval” for a Bitcoin ETF.
“We just can’t see Gensler and the SEC going out of their way to state positive comments about a 1940-act Bitcoin futures ETF at the end of September and then denying all of them less than a month later,” says Seyffart. His comments are coming on the heels of the head of the SEC saying that a futures-based Bitcoin ETF stands the best chance of being approved by the Commission. Several applications come under the Investment Company Act of 1940 which is regarded as offering higher levels of investor protection.
Bitcoin investors are also pinning their hopes on the fact that the Commission had directed issuers of Ethereum-futures ETF to withdraw their application but it seems that the applications about Bitcoin futures have met the minimum requirements. Furthermore, the recent approval of Volt’s ETF that contains companies with significant exposure to Bitcoin like Tesla and Microstrategy is seen as a subtle nod towards an impending approval.
Nate Geraci of ETF Store said the approval of a futures-based ETF would be a way for the SEC to “appear to be forward-thinking on crypto.”
Applications Troop In
BlockFi is the latest firm to apply for a Bitcoin-futures ETF in a growing list of applications. The application comes under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and is likely to be the fifth that could gain approval.
Analysts believe that the applications of Proshares, Valkyrie, VanEck, or Galaxy would be given preference based on the time of their filings. Canada launched the first bitcoin ETF in North America that was received with critical acclaim and in a bid to limit capital outflows from the company, the US could launch its own.
Why It Matters
Bitcoin ETF offers investors the opportunity to leverage the price of the asset without holding the asset directly or signing up for a cryptocurrency exchange. It also has the benefit of diversification and being tax efficient.
