Abra CEO: SEC Denies Bitcoin ETFs Because Applicants Do Not Do what is Required

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Abra CEO: SEC Denies Bitcoin ETFs Because Applicants Do Not “Look, Smell and Feel” the Way the SEC Expects Them To
In the past few months, news regarding the approval and denial of Bitcoin ETFs have dominated the cryptocurrency community’s discussions, the SEC rejected a fund proposed by the Winklevoss twins, postponed a conclusion on VanEck and Solid X’s proposed ETF and slapped down several other proposals.

The creation of a Bitcoin ETF is not to be taken on lightly as an exchange-traded fund is a powerful thing with all sorts of feedback loops with the potential for trouble.

Bill Barhydt, the CEO of Bitcoin payment processor, Abra, explained to CNBC that the SEC has been slow to approve any Bitcoin ETFs due to the applications not fitting the financial model that the SEC is used to.

According to Barhydt in order to receive approval for an ETF, there should be an applicant who “looks, feels and smells” the way the SEC expects them to. He further noted that a trusted financial organization has better chances to get approval than a startup or a relatively unknown company. Come next year the SEC will finally approve a Bitcoin (BTC) ETF he said.

“It’s going to happen in the next year, I would actually make a bet on it. There is too much demand for it.”

An ETF includes any kind of fund, be it mutual or hedge fund, that is traded within a listed exchange platform. With an ETF, most assets traded are regulated by CFTC or SEC.

Currently, very few crypto assets are recognized by these two regulatory bodies. As such, any trading fund would need to list its shareholders as securities. Because of these regulatory challenges, SEC is still wary of approving their ETF proposals.

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