On the 7th of August, the US Securities and Exchange Commision published an official statement on the delay of the latest Bitcoin ETF Proposal. The news led to panic in the cryptocurrency market, with falls from $254 Billion to levels of $232 Billion within 24 hours.

The SEC wrote–

“The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change. The Commission, pursuant to Section 19(b)(2) of the Act, designates September 30, 2018, as the date by which the Commission shall either approve or disapprove, or institute proceedings to determine whether to disapprove, the proposed rule change.”

However was the panic even necessary? Brian Kelly the Crypto bull, who appears quite often on CNBC’s ‘Fast Money’ thinks no!

Brian Kelly told on the CNBC show-

“If you’re selling today after this decision, it’s the wrong way to do crypto investing. There is more to this story than just an ETF. A little spoiler alert: On September 30th, they will likely postpone it again because the market’s not ready for it and the SEC hasn’t had all the answers to their questions yet.”

Let’s analyze a few hints that the SEC is actually listening to the public about why the Bitcoin ETF should be approved.

The first hint was SEC had received more than 1,300 public comments on its website with regards to the CBOE sponsored ETF.

The figures were given in the latest SEC reports-

“The proposed rule change was published for comment in the Federal Register on July 2, 2018. As of August 6, 2018, the Commission has received more than 1,300 comments on the proposed rule change.”

The second hint, of Bakkt by Starbucks, Microsoft and Intercontinental Exchange means a regulated exchange by reputable firms each in their respective fields. Winklevoss’s ETF was heavily debated upon as it had no reputable firm under them.

The third hint, was Commissioner Hester Pierce giving a side of commissioners not many people knew about, which was that many were not against cryptocurrencies. Thus a consideration is expected.

Overall there was an over panic to a situation where the delay is a good thing as the SEC is listening to public opinion and taking the time to discuss. Delays usually mean an agreement, if the SEC had to prove their point they would have already rejected the Bitcoin ETF.

Image Source: “Flickr”