The SEC continues kicking the can down the road when it comes to approving a spot-based Bitcoin exchange-traded fund
Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer took to Twitter to share a letter from U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler in which the latter explains the reason for the agency’s reluctance to approve a spot-based Bitcoin ETF.
The letter made it clear that the agency was a long way from approving such an investment product, stressing that it has to ensure the prevention of fraud and manipulation in the market:
When reviewing Bitcoin spot ETPS, the Commission must apply all of the standards of the Exchange Act, which it followed in its orders considering previous proposals to list Bitcoin spot ETPs.
In early November, Emmer sent a bipartisan letter to Gensler together with Democratic representative Darren Soto, in which the two asked to clarify why the agency refused to approve a spot-based Bitcoin ETF.
The SEC gave the green light to the first futures-based Bitcoin ETF in October, but the securities watchdog has so far rejected every proposal filed to launch a spot-based ETF. Major players such as NYDIG, SkyBridge Capital, WisdomTree, Fidelity were all rejected.
A spot ETF would offer direct exposure to the underlying asset, which makes it so desirable.
Emmer has repeatedly expressed his dissatisfaction with the SEC’s reluctance to formally approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.
The Minnesota congressman has also criticized Gensler for claiming that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies are unregistered securities.
Gensler, who was sworn in last April, has taken a hawkish stance on cryptocurrencies, expressing concerns about investor protection. That said, he confirmed that the United States would not go so far as to follow China in banning Bitcoin.
