VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin ETF receives mostly negative comments from the public

Six out of seven comments submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission regarding VanEck/SolidX Bitcoin exchange-traded fund rulemaking have been negative. Most urged the SEC to decline the ETF. The comments were filed between Feb. 13 and March 12. Most of the respondents voice similar concerns—they refer to bitcoin’s volatility and say the cryptocurrency can be manipulated.

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Sam Ahn, one of the respondents, claims bitcoin does not have “any intrinsic value.” According to Ahn, “In general, the intrinsic value of something tangible is recognized for its the market prices. If the SEC has approved currency-based ETF's by utilizing this logic, it is not easy for the SEC to deny the same logic from utilized for bitcoin-based ETF’s. Everything has its beginning and its end. It is a time for the SEC to start developing the concept of intrinsic value, for this decision and future decisions.” Respondent D. Barnwell voiced similar concerns, opting for a watch-and-wait approach to assess whether bitcoin should become a financial product.

However, the newest comment from Sami dos Santos offers a different view, describing bitcoin as “revolutionary.” Dos Santos believes ETF approval would grant cryptocurrencies “greater security in the crypto-currency market,” and refutes the argument regarding the manipulation, saying “without an investment fund the investor is susceptible to buy bitcoins in deregulated exchanges and lose their investments (bitcoins). VanEck already offers insurance to cover possible losses and as such, the investor will show interest in investing in an ETF fund.”

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