Will Bitcoin Futures Pave the Way for Bitcoin ETFs?
With the regulatory approval of the CFTC to list bitcoin futures contracts on the CME and CBOE, the door has been pulled wide open for potential bitcoin ETFs in the future. This is the case not only because a major U.S. financial regulator has approved bitcoin-based financial products but also because this opens up the opportunity to base a bitcoin ETF on bitcoin futures, which are standardized, publicly traded, and transparent. This, of course, would address some of the issues that the SEC currently has with the listing of a bitcoin ETF based on “physical” bitcoin as the underlying asset.
In fact, the SEC has reportedly already received several bitcoin ETF proposals that use bitcoin futures as the underlying asset since the launch of bitcoin futures on the CME and CBOE. However, all of these applications were withdrawn after Blass’ staff letter on cryptocurrency ETFs was released on January 18, 2018.
“Until the questions [on valuation, liquidity, custody, and potential market manipulation] can be addressed satisfactorily, we do not believe that it is appropriate for fund sponsors to initiate registration of funds that intend to invest substantially in cryptocurrency and related products, and we have asked sponsors that have registration statements filed for such products to withdraw them,” the letter stated.
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