Bitcoin (BTC)–Bitcoin suffered another valuation blow today as the bears forced the price back below $6800. While the coin was experiencing a mild price rally after falling from $8200 to under $7000, news of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) delaying their decision on a Bitcoin ETF until September 30th.
Bitcoin Price Tied to ETF Approval
Most investors and cryptocurrency enthusiasts were hopeful that the SEC would deliver a favorable ruling on the creation of a Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund, despite last month’s denail of a Winklevoss ETF. However, today news broke that the government body had decided to further put off a ruling on investment firm VanEck’s bid for creating an ETF, sending the market back into a turmoil. Despite the failure of the Winklevoss ETF proposal last month, New York based investment management firm was the frontrunner in the creation of a SEC-approved fund. Now, that ruling seems to be caught in limbo as the regulatory agency continues to punt away the issue to a later date.
Speaking in an earlier interview with CoinDesk, VanEck director of digital asset strategy Gabor Gurbacs was candid about his firm’s chance to create the first cryptocurrency ETF,
“Unfortunately, I don’t know the answer. I do know that we have addressed market structure issues and this is a chance for regulators to bring bitcoin under existing frameworks and protect investors.”
In addition, Gurbacs affirmed his company’s intention to create a product that serves the needs of institutional investors, as opposed to the retail market that dominates the investing side of cryptocurrency,
“Today, the bitcoin markets are still 90-95 percent retail and institutions are looking for a way to get into these markets so the physical ETF we have tailored to institutions.”
While some have questioned the emphasis and need for government regulated funds, VanEck is confident that such a move will bring improvement to the industry of cryptocurrency. Wall Street and institutional investors have thus far shied away from diving into the cryptomarkets, due to the volatility and lack of exchange security, in addition to murky legislation surrounding the investment vehicle. ETFs provide more certainty to these firms, in addition to revealing a pathway for more security and best practices in relation to handling the emerging crypto asset class.
Given the severe price movement following the SEC delay, Bitcoin investors across the globe are hanging on news of ETF approval. In July, Bitmex co-founder Arthur Hayes boldly predicted that the price of BTC would reach $50,000 by year’s end in the event of an approved ETF. The anticipation has caused erratic pricing in the market, with underlying technology and adoption having little to do with value swings at present.
