Grayscale Says Bitcoin ETF Only a Matter of Time

The crypto market may finally see a Bitcoin ETF approval, although regulators need more time. 

“We think a Bitcoin ETF is a matter of when, not a matter of if,” Grayscale Investments managing director, Michael Sonnenshein, told Morgan Creek Digital co-founder Anthony Pompliano in a July 15 interview. “The regulators have done a fantastic job of staying ahead of the curve on the digital currency asset class as a whole,” he added. 

The crypto space moves fast

Explaining the speed at which the global digital crypto world moves, Sonnenshein described the clarity U.S. regulatory bodies had provided the industry stems from their proactivity.

“There are, in fact, ways to work with regulators on the asset class within existing frameworks, but they’re just not ready to approve an ETF yet,” he explained. 

So many Bitcoin ETF attempts denied

A Bitcoin ETF, giving investors and traders access to Bitcoin on mainstream financial markets, has eluded the crypto space many times over the last few years. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, has denied numerous attempts at such a product, from multiple companies. 

“I think that they’ve been pretty explicit about wanting to see certain dynamics within the market mature a little bit more,” Sonnenshein said of U.S. regulating bodies. 

Noting examples, Sonnenshein added:

“Things like maybe a more global order book for Bitcoin, maybe things like surveillance sharing agreements, maybe a little bit more regulation and oversight of the different marketplaces and venues where digital assets are being traded.”

Reasons for the SEC’s previous Bitcoin ETF denials include a lack of proof against market manipulation and confirmation of Bitcoin’s market magnitude, among other critiques.