Bitcoin / Breaking News

Bill Barhydt, the CEO of BTC payment company Abra, believes Bitcoin will receive ETF approval in 2019. While the SEC recently rejected no less than nine Bitcoin ETF applications by GraniteShares, Direxion and ProShares, Bill claims the sole reason these applications were rejected is because they failed to meet the existing expectations of the SEC. “The people doing the applications don’t fit the mould of who they are used to approving,” explained Bill, a former Goldman Sachs employee. Bill also noted that an applicant would have to firmly meet SEC standards for any approval to take place, while pointing out that applications from trusted financial institutions are infinitely more likely to pass. The finance specialist explained that he would be willing to bet that Bitcoin ETF will garner the approval of the SEC at some point in 2019, saying “there’s too much demand for it.” In recent months, the approval of a BTC exchange-traded fund by the United States SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) has become something of a hot topic. Following the halting of the majority of filed applications, all eyes are now on commodity-backed Bitcoin Trust ETFs like VanEck/SolidX. The decision on this particular application has been pushed back to September 30th, and remains one of the most anticipated SEC decisions in recent years. Some crypto experts believe there to be three potential roadblocks that a Bitcoin ETF application will need to overcome to receive the approval of the commission. These are: • Security issues: the need for custody solutions, and for the ETF to be completely insured and physically backed. • Lack of liquidity: this essentially increases the vulnerability of crypto markets, paving the way for manipulation caused by sharp price changes. • Valuation: appropriate valuation helps to determine the performance of a fund, what authorised participants pay for ETFs, and what investors pay for mutual funds.