In a stern warning to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Dennis M. Kelleher, co-founder and CEO of Better Markets, a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting the public financial interest, issued a statement vehemently opposing approval. of bitcoin spot ETFs.
This development comes amid widespread optimism among market analysts that the SEC will, in the coming days, greenlight several applications from asset managers competing to launch a bitcoin spot ETF in the United States.
Approving bitcoin Spot ETF Would Be a 'Historic Mistake' – Kelleher
On Friday, December 6, Better Markets presented abitcoin-ETF.pdf” target=”_blank” rel=”noopener nofollow”> Supplementary Comment Letter to the SEC in response to proposed rule changes by national stock exchanges seeking to list and trade shares in bitcoin spot ETFs.
In this letter, the company's CEO, Dennis M. Kelleher, expressed his strong opposition to the idea that bitcoin exchange-traded products are a “historical mistake” that will “almost certainly” result in harm to investors. on a large scale.
Keheller stated that the introduction of these spot ETFs into the US financial markets would expose millions of US investors to certain risks associated with the cryptocurrency market, including in particular a prevalent level of fraud and market manipulation.
Today we present a supplemental comment letter detailing why @SECGov must reject the pending application bitcoin?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>#bitcoin ETP. It had the wrong year 2023, which has now been changed to 2024 and you can read it here: https://t.co/5eLMT6Sfen pic.twitter.com/7cFzR8XQXV
– Better Markets (@BetterMarkets) January 6, 2024
Additionally, the CEO of Better Markets believes that the SEC giving the green light to this investment fund will allow several crypto companies to misrepresent their products as backed by the US government, which could mislead investors. retail investors.
According to Keheller, denying the proposed rule changes is not only a prudent measure but also a legal obligation required of the SEC. The Better Markets co-founder also expressed his lack of faith in the shared surveillance agreements (SSAs) that accompany many of these proposed bitcoin spot ETFs, describing them as mere “window dressing.”
In conclusion, Keheller urges the SEC to not allow US investors to invest in bitcoin, either directly or through an exchange-traded product, claiming that both methods offer the same risks.
The Better Markets boss said:
The fact that the investment vehicle is an ETP will not protect investors; If anything, the supposed protections associated with the ETP will also provide false comfort to unsuspecting investors who fall for marketers' claims that the SEC has approved, if not endorsed, the product. The value of your investment will be subject to the same risks of fraud and manipulation in the bitcoin market as investors who own bitcoins directly. The SEC should not subject investors to these risks
Bloomberg Analyst Counters Better Markets on bitcoin Spot ETF Approval
Following the release of Better Markets' supplemental comment letter to the SEC, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has sarcastically disagreed with Kelleher about the alleged risks posed by bitcoin spot ETFs.
It would be an absolutely criminal move for this to happen considering the time, effort and energy of all of these issuers AND the SEC staff over the past several months. https://t.co/QZR4pqcyga
-James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 5, 2024
Seyraff referenced the multiple dialogues between asset managers and the SEC in recent weeks. In particular, these discussions have led to modifications by the applicants in their various proposals indicating changes that coincide with the SEC's investor security requirements with respect to such exchange-traded products.
The deadline for making decisions on these ETF applications is January 10. Many crypto analysts remain positive about a possible approval which they predict will lead to increased demand for bitcoin.
At the time of writing, the inaugural cryptocurrency is trading at $43,895, down 0.21% in the past hour.
<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-medium" src="https://technicalterrence.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Better-Markets-CEO-Opposes-Approval-of-Bitcoin-Spot-ETF" alt="bitcoin Spot ETF” width=”1479″ height=”893″/>
bitcoin trading at $43,819 on the daily chart | Source: BTCUSDT chart on Tradingview.com
Featured image from Getty Image/istockphoto, chart from Tradingview
