Lack of ETNs Keeps Wall Street Away From Bitcoin, Says CBOE Analyst Ed Tilly

Ed Tilly, CEO, president and chairman at the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), declared that there is a need for Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded notes (ETNs) in order for Wall Street institutional investors to join the crypto space. Financial newspaper Business Insider reported on Tilly’s comments on Jan.18.

According to the aforementioned article, Tilly declared that “the growth of Bitcoin in listed markets is still hamstrung by the lack of a trading product geared toward mom-and-pop investors.” According to him, Bitcoin futures did not see substantial growth because of the lack of a note or tracker tied to BTC that retail customers could trade.

The article elaborates that both futures and exchange-traded notes are important for offering access points to Wall Street-type investors.

According to the article, Tilly explained that ETNs are more accessible to the average investor when compared to futures because of their lower barrier for entry. Tilly continued:

“The power of having that future there is also having an ETN that is more attractive to retail, and then institutions can lay that risk off on the listed futures market. [...] Absent that leg and introducing trackers or notes, I think we will be in this, 'It trades every day, but it is not the story.'”

According to Tilly, the reason why regulators did not approve a Bitcoin exchange-traded product, such as the still-pending exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications, is that the regulators cannot protect investors from manipulation on a market they cannot control. “You answer that question, you get your first ETN,” concluded Tilly.

As Cointelegraph recently reported, crypto entrepreneur and regular contributor to CNBC Brian Kelly claimed that there is no chance for a Bitcoin (BTC) ETF approval in 2019.

Also, recently news broke that cryptocurrency index fund provider Bitwise Asset Management has applied with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to launch a new Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.