Bitcoin ETF will see eventual approval, SEC commissioner says

Even though the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) keeps denying proposals for cryptocurrency-based funds, one will eventually pass the minimum requirements and get accepted, said U.S. SEC Commissioner Robert J. Jackson Jr. in a leaked interview with Congressional Quarterly planned for publication on Feb. 11.

“Getting the stamp of approval from the deepest and most liquid capital markets in the world is hard, and it should be," said Jackson. "Once we put the stamp of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission on an investment; once we make it available to everyday mom and pop investors, we are taking risks that Americans can get hurt.”

Cryptocurrency-based ETFs are at a disadvantage, since, similarly to cryptocurrencies themselves, SEC believes them to be volatile.

Jackson said the ETF proposals submitted so far have not passed the necessary criteria. For instance, the proposal to list Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust shares by Batx BXZ Exchange was rejected last July because it hadn’t established the surveillance typically seen in stock markets. Moreover, Jackson referred to serious liquidity issues in the market that SEC noticed.