Bitcoin Exchange -traded funds (ETF) are facing a massive regulatory hurdle in the United States as the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is reluctant to give its approval.
Ric Edelman, founder of advisory firm Edelman Financial Engines, however, is optimistic and believes that Bitcoin ETFs will eventually come to the market.
“It's virtually certain. The only question is when,” Edelman said, in an interview with CNBC. “The SEC has several legitimate thoughtful concerns that the industry has to overcome but I'm confident they will. Eventually, we will see a bitcoin ETF and it's at that stage that I will be much more comfortable recommending that ordinary investors participate.”
The SEC has previously raised concerns about the lack of secure custody services in the digital asset market along with the hurdles to oversee the global trading platforms.
A Great Demand for Bitcoin ETFs
"We've got some serious players. Fidelity has made a major announcement in the custody issue. We've got Kingdom Trust and a number of other very serious players on the custody side. I'm confident that in very short order VanEck or Bitwise will satisfy the custody concern to the SEC," said Edelman.
In the same interview, Tom Lydon, editor-in-chief of ETFTrends.com stated that he already sees a huge demand in the US market for Bitcoin ETFs.
“There is pent-up demand. We interview advisors all the time. Seventy-four percent say they've talked to clients about their interests in bitcoin so they need to step up when this happens because that money is going to go elsewhere,” said Lydon.
CBOE, last month, resubmitted its Bitcoin ETF proposal with the SEC after a week of withdrawal of the same. Moreover, NYSE Arca, along with the San Francisco-based asset manager Bitwise, last December, filed for the approval of a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF.
The SEC earlier rejected the Winklevoss brother’s bid to list a Bitcoin ETF on the BATS exchange multiple times. The twins, however, are determined to proceed with the proposal again as in a Reddit AMA, last month, Camron Winklevoss noted: “We are committed as ever to making an ETF a reality!”
