[2017-08-26] Bitcoin ETF Now More Likelier than Ever, Says Bloomberg Analyst

[nickbelski]

A bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) is looking more likely, given recent political events, according to Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas in a recently televised “Bloomberg Technology” interview.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) earlier this year rejected the first proposed bitcoin ETF from the Winklevoss twins.

Balchunas points to recent events that make a bitcoin ETF more likely.

Why An ETF Is More Likely

The CBOE (Chicago Board Options Exchange) has announced it will list bitcoin futures and create a futures market, said Balchunas.

In early August, CNBC reported that pending review from the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the CBOE plans to offer cash-settled bitcoin futures in the fourth quarter of this year or early 2018.

There will also be bitcoin options, Balchunas said. “This will help bring more liquidity into the market,” he said. “That’s a big deal. I think it will help with the SEC.”

“The second thing is the SEC itself,” he said, referring to the Trump Administration’s influence on the SEC. The new front runner for the division of investment management is an attorney from the law firm that represented the Winklevoss twins in their bid for their bitcoin ETF. “I’m not saying they will make a decision based on that, but it can’t hurt,” Balchunas said.

“They’re a little more liberal than a year ago,” he said of the SEC.

‘Ready For Prime Time’

“When you approve an ETF for something, you’re essentially making it ready for prime time, because anybody with an e-trade account can now buy it,” Balchunas said. “It’s a lot easier than going out and signing up for a bitcoin account on one of the exchanges.”

“It’s also good for bitcoin because it’s going to open up a world of new investors,” he said, comparing it to what the GLD ETF did with gold, which is now a $40 billion ETF. The Winklevoss bitcoin ETF was modeled on GLD.

“It’s going to store bitcoin just like GLD stores gold and make it easier for investors to access it,” he said.

Also read: SEC suspends trading of publicly listed bitcoin firm

CFTC Authorizes Clearing House

The CFTC in July granted LedgerX, LLC registration as a digital currency derivatives clearing organization under the Commodity Exchange Act. LedgerX is authorized to provide clearing services for fully-collateralized digital currency swaps. LedgerX was also approved as a swap execution facility (SEF) on July 6, 2017, making it the first federally regulated SEF allowed to offer clearing services and a trading facility for options based on digital currency for the institutional market.

The SEC finding in July that DAO tokens are a security, and subject to federal securities laws was welcomed by cryptocurrency industry observers as an indication the agency is developing laws to apply to cryptocurrencies. The finding was part of an SEC report on its investigation into the DAO ICO.

Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-etf-now-likely-bloomberg-analyst-says/

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[Netnox]

I just hope that eventually the Bitcoin ETF will get listed in NASDAQ. I was terribly disappointed when the SEC turned down the ETF in the first attempt. It is going to be a huge boost for all of us, Bitcoin users.

[Karartma1]

Give them an ETF and surelly the first shuttle that will have people living on the moon will be those funny bitcoin millionaires.
we had time to buy many tickets... are you onboard?

[BitHodler]

Give them an ETF and surelly the first shuttle that will have people living on the moon will be those funny bitcoin millionaires.
we had time to buy many tickets... are you onboard?

No matter how high the price will be going up, there will always be loads of people asking whether or not it's the right time to buy at whatever price level ~ these people don't really understand this market.

It has been like that when we were sitting at sub $1000 levels, and it's still like that today. Some people simply don't know when to enter the market, or they sold far too soon.

Sure, I get it that people from time to time want to liquidate certain positions after the price has gone up like 50-100%, but I fail to understand why certain people choose to sell everything they have in one go.

[richardsNY]

I was terribly disappointed when the SEC turned down the ETF in the first attempt. It is going to be a huge boost for all of us, Bitcoin users.

An ETF would definitely be something that would push the market miles and miles further, but every growth that we managed to gain throughout the years has all been without ETF's or whatever other tools. Another important thing to keep in mind, is that when institutions and other portfolio billionaires start jumping into the Bitcoin world, it will change this market massively -- it will then become a plaything for wealthy entities. From that point I can also understand that some people don't seem to feel any disappointment when it comes to the SEC rejecting the previous ETF's.

[LittleBitFunny]

This is typical modern journalism.  They don't even know the basic rules of English grammar.  

It's just as likely as it's always been.  Mind-bogglingly unlikely.  The SEC are a traditionally conservative institution and BTC has become even less stable since they rejected it.

[1Referee]

More likely than ever? This has absolutely no value until it turns out to become reality. I have zero confidence in the SEC to approve any sort of Bitcoin related ETF's in the coming months, perhaps even years. The only positive thing is that more countries have started to regulate Bitcoin, and that will *eventually* play out in our favor. I just don't understand what exactly is making the Winklevoss ETF review take so long. By now I would at least have expected them to come up with a statement, but thus far nothing has come out of their direction - it's complete silence. I am quite sure people that were excited about this review, don't even think about it anymore.

[Karartma1]

Give them an ETF and surelly the first shuttle that will have people living on the moon will be those funny bitcoin millionaires.
we had time to buy many tickets... are you onboard?

No matter how high the price will be going up, there will always be loads of people asking whether or not it's the right time to buy at whatever price level ~ these people don't really understand this market.

It has been like that when we were sitting at sub $1000 levels, and it's still like that today. Some people simply don't know when to enter the market, or they sold far too soon.

Sure, I get it that people from time to time want to liquidate certain positions after the price has gone up like 50-100%, but I fail to understand why certain people choose to sell everything they have in one go.

If I could get a chance to discuss again with my economist friends I should slap the new course of bitcoin in their face. I studied economics but to me bitcoin has always represented something more that they could not understand.
We're talking game theory, cryptography, network effects etc. that's not easy to understand for many out there.
 

[HTracer]

“It’s going to store bitcoin just like GLD stores gold and make it easier for investors to access it,” he said.

Rocket sceince, yeh. They are going to store bitcoin for investors, just give them money ... and (sic!) it easier for investors to access it.