All eyes are set on August 10, 2018 as the fate of the most promising Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund is set to find out its destiny as the SEC comes together and will determine what its stance is regarding what would be the first ever crypto-related ETF approval.
The SEC has been filtering through ETF applications for cryptocurrency, but some of their initial considerations have been disappointing, to say the least. The application submitted by Winklevoss made a major impact on the rest of the industry, with Bitcoin dipping below $8,000. This rejection stimulated major conversations in the cryptocurrency world, especially concerning how it will impact the other submissions setup.
One group that is especially concerned is the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), since they have a fairly solid case to have their request approved. There have been some sources that have been discussing what this means for the future of institutional space.
According to one source who is supposedly close to the heart of the matter, they had thisto say:
“The Winklevoss denial is irrelevant here. Those that realized that quickly are the voices you should listen to here. Our submission (based on the VanEck SolidX product) is equally backed by the principles needed to expect an approval, but also carries the heft of a regulatory agency that is part private sector and part pseudo-governmental agency. While we are a public company via capitalization, we are still closely tied to regulatory bodies given the need for public trust, etc., etc. That is where the SEC will focus its approval or disapproval chops. We still believe that approval of our Bitcoin ETF product is a near certainty. Just a question of timing and potential administrative delays.”
One of the sources at the SEC have expressed the high likelihood of the CBOE product being approved, saying,
“The hybrid exchange/regulatory elements there make a world of difference. The SEC will have an internal interest in dealing equitably with the CBOE. Believe me when I say that. The Gemini decision was expected from those in the know and could have easily been predicted. Again, this stuff is more about timing than anything else. Approvals will come, it is more a matter of Q4 2018 or Q1 2019. And as I said before, that will open up the door to more crypto-based product submissions.”
Both of these sources basically indicate that the decision on Winklevoss will not be an indication of how the SEC will treat any of the other submissions right now. Most of the conversation in the industry right now is about the positive chance that CBOE has for approval. We encourage anyone who is looking for further analysis and a quality brain dump as to how the SEC viewed the latest appeal denial from the WinklevossBitcoin ETF to click here and listen/watch/read SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce's viewpoint.
Here is what VanEck had to say directly about their hopeful outcome pending til August 10.
According to a source that spoke with an ICO media out in a brief interview, they said that the approval was almost undeniable. They even added, “It remains the clear expectation here and that hasn’t changed one bit. It would be a major upset were an approval be denied. Again, this is about when, not if.”
There was one crypto-twitter personality who thought the CBOE VanEck Bitcoin ETF would be pushed back all the way til February 19, 2019 and a known eToro analyst also predicted Q1 of 2019 to be the timeframe for the first ever approval. Many wonder what would happen if the infamous words were uttered, “SEC Approves First-Ever Bitcoin ETF” and how the markets would react.
