News of the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF being rejected by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (again) has shook the markets and breached the headlines today.

If you’re not up to date, check out our coverage of this story,

here

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Not all hope is lost just get for the Winklevoss twins however, as reports out this afternoon highlight that SEC Commissioner, Hester M. Peirce has commented on the SEC’s approach to rejecting the Bitcoin ETF

According to The Next Web, Peirce has said:

“I am concerned that the Commission’s approach undermines investor protection by precluding greater institutionalization of the Bitcoin market. More institutional participation would ameliorate many of the Commission’s concerns with the Bitcoin market that underlie its disapproval order. More generally, the Commission’s interpretation and application of the statutory standard sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets, a signal that may have effects far beyond the fate of Bitcoin ETPs.”

See the full report for yourself,

here

.

We want to focus on the latter part of this statement; ‘

More generally, the Commission’s interpretation and application of the statutory standard sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets’.

This is a powerful comment and suggests that Peirce is concerned that by rejecting the ETF, the SEC are only discouraging change within their markets that has already proven to be innovative and something that could play a huge part in the future of world economics.

Moreover, the SEC could kickstart a new, trend that would see Bitcoin ETF’s become more common, I guess Peirce wants the opportunity to be a part of that, although the SEC on the other hand, clearly do not.

What does this mean for the Winklevoss twins now?

We know they are probably going to reapply, but perhaps this time they should seek further consultation with Peirce as Peirce no doubt has some authority within the commission. It does seem that until the threat of money laundering is removed, the SEC won’t actually permit the Bitcoin ETF but, assuming the twins persist and assuming Peirce works towards cleaning up the appearance of the ETF, perhaps next time the conclusion will be very different.