Last night, the SEC rejected an ETF proposal. It wasn’t the CBOE-backed proposal that has gotten people hyped, but a Winklevoss-Gemini proposal. Still, there are some interesting takeaways for understanding the potential for other on-deck ETF proposals. Quick summary: /1
2/ First, a primer on why there has been so much buzz on a bitcoin ETF for the last few weeks. In short, it’s about accessibility to institutional investors and another step in the maturation of the crypto asset class as a whole.
3/ Second, @AureliusBTC did a fantastic job TL;DRing this proposal rejection. One major difference between this one and the VanEck/SolidX is who they’re aimed at. Winklevoss ETF priced at 0.1 BTC for retail, VanEck/SolidX at 25 BTC just for institutional.
4/ A common theme in the rejection, as Josh points out - is the specter of “manipulation”
5/ General sentiment among those paying attention was that this ETF never stood a chance. Still, it produced an interesting dissenter in SEC Commissioner Hester Pierce who argued that disapproval would “dampen innovation” and “inhibit institutionalization”
6/ Lastly, the ETF conversation also did produce one of the most useful threads of the week from Jake, who broke down exactly when we’re likely (and not likely) to hear from the SEC about the proposal that does have people excited.
7/ One other final note...one additional interesting piece of ETF news from this week that got maybe a little too drowned out was @BitwiseInvest application for a crypto index fund ETF. Could be another powerful step for the sector.
