Bitcoin ETF: SEC Chair’s New Take Leaves More Questions Than Answers

A clip shared by James Seyffart on the X app showed how Gary Gensler, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair had tried to avoid the subject of crypto when he was approached by a reporter from BloombergTV.

Smart Deflections on BTC ETF Subject

Kailey Leinz, reporting for BloombergTV, approached the Commissioner right after a meeting about the U.S. Treasury market and posed a question at Gensler about spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF. But it seems Gensler was not interested in the subject as he quickly redirected the conversation towards the Treasury market. 

“The $26 trillion Treasury market, which is really the base of our entire capital markets. It’s how we fund our government. It’s how our Federal Reserve does monetary policy. It’s how we maintain the dollar dominance around the globe. And you want to ask me about crypto?” Gensler pointed out to Leinz.

He asked the reporter what the key priorities should be, trying to imply that spot Bitcoin ETF talks are currently inconsequential. “The U.S. Treasury market is a very consequential, very important market,” he added. Furthermore, he declared that crypto securities are a very small part of the U.S. economy, plus it has no contribution to how the government is being funded.

Just like was outlined in the so-called “educational resources” that got the internet buzzing a few days ago, Gensler described crypto assets as an investment that has brought severe harm to investors over time.

Any Headway with Spot Bitcoin ETF?

Many observers have confidently declared that the crypto industry and institutional investors were making headway with the spot Bitcoin ETF applications, especially after the SEC had meetings with some of the applicants. The agency’s Trading and Markets Division had a series of meetings with Grayscale Investments and BlackRock to discuss some technical details in relation to the potential ETF product. 

However, the new turn of event puts a clause on whether the regulator is really considering the approval of the product. Much more, it questions the current position of the spot Bitcoin ETF applications to the SEC  from BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree, Invesco, Valkyrie, VanEck, ARK 21Shares, Bitwise and a host of others.

The narrow window of January 8th and 10th is fast approaching but at this time, no one is sure about what to expect from the agency.