VanEck: We’re ‘Cautiously Optimistic’ on Bitcoin ETF Approval
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Gabur Gurbacs, Director of Digital Assets Strategy at VanEck has expressed optimism over the SEC’s impending decision on the long-mooted Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) proposal by VanEck and SolidX.
Speaking to host Brad Smith during an appearance on Cheddar, Gurbacs stated that while the market clearly wants a bitcoin ETF, the only update available is that VanEck believes it has provided enough compelling reason for the SEC to approve the long-awaited fund, and it believes it has a good chance of receiving the regulator’s blessing.
“Increased Transparency and Better Structure”
Explaining the reason behind the company’s optimism, he said:
“The last day the ETF can be approved is end of February. We think we have met all required market structure, obstacles and requirements on pricing custody evaluation safekeeping. So, we are consciously optimistic but there is a lot more work to be done sort of to get the market ready. And some good announcements recently on over-the-counter markets being transparent.”
The conversation, which was posted on Brad Smith’s Twitter account earned mixed responses from an audience which was split between sharing Gurbac’s optimism and expressing reservations about the growth of the over-the-counter market’s transparency and surveillance capabilities.
Expanding later on his statement regarding increased maturation of crypto markets, Gurbacs tweeted:
It will be recalled that in addition to the proposal by VanEck, nine similar proposals for bitcoin ETFs have been submitted to the SEC, which promptly turned all of them down. The reasons given in all these cases generally revolved around concerns about the possibility of manipulation and the absence of a robust market surveillance system in crypto markets.
In a bid to address these concerns, VanEck has made a series of adjustments to their proposal. In November, Gurbacs stated that a Bitcoin ETF would not only attract billions of dollars in new investments, but the pending proposals could effectively give the SEC a key measure of regulatory leverage over the crypto market.
While an exact time frame for an SEC decision on VanEck’s application remains hard to predict, many stakeholders in the crypto space are keeping a very close eye on developments because it is expected that unlike a number of other ETF applications, it is the one with the greatest possibility of success. The SEC has postponed a decision on the application twice already, with another postponement expectedly coming last night which pushes the decision to the end of February 2019.
Featured image from Shutterstock.
