SEC commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr. believes that a Bitcoin exchange traded fund will eventually satisfy the commission’s standards. The Securities and Exchange Commission has so far denied and delayed all Bitcoin ETF applications they have received.

Eventually, do I think someone will satisfy the standards that we’ve laid out there? I hope so, yes, and I think so SEC Commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr.

In an interview, Jackson stated that a number of cryptocurrency-based applications await the agency’s decision. He would not speculate on whether they will be approved or even when. SEC chairman Jay Clayton however, doesn’t see a pathway for a Bitcoin or cryptocurrency ETF to be approved until concerns of market manipulation are addressed.

SEC Double Standards?

Prior ETF applications such as the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust have failed to appease the SEC’s strict requirements. Though interestingly enough, a type of pseudo-ETF has skirted SEC purview and made it’s way to retail investors. Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) holds Bitcoin on behalf of investors similar to an ETF. Why the SEC allowed GBTC through and continues to deny Bitcoin ETFs is a mystery.

Many Bitcoin investors believe that an ETF will push Bitcoin’s price out of a bear market and into a raging bull market with the moon as the final destination. However, it must be cautioned…If an ETF is approved where the underlying asset that the ETF holds is a cash settled futures contract, then it could spell trouble for Bitcoin’s price. The best hope would be for an ETF that holds physical Bitcoin itself to be approved.

While we all wait for a Bitcoin ETF to be approved by the SEC, we can take solace in the companies that are pushing Bitcoin adoption further. Bakkt’s physically settled futures are very interesting to say the least. Beyond that, Bitcoin development has not slowed at all. If anything it has sped up. Bitcoin’s future looks very bright even in this dark and dismal bear market.