SEC “Overdue on Approving” a Bitcoin ETF Product: Crypto Mom Hester Peirce

Hester Peirce, one of the commissioners of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), known in the cryptospace as crypto mom has weighed in on the prospects of the commission in approving the highly anticipated Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) which a number of firms have submitted applications for.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Forbes, Peirce who first was appointed as an SEC Commissioner in 2018 by former President Donald Trump, revealed that Bitcoin, and by extension, other digital currencies have always been unjustifiably held by a different set of stringent rules by fellow commissioners.

In respect of the previously rejected applications for Bitcoin ETFs from the likes of VanEck, and Bitwise, Peirce said the consideration for each application is usually based on its facts and circumstances, with a resounding position that the SEC is “overdue on approving” these ETF products.

“We look at each application on its facts and circumstances, and that will drive where the decisions go. However, people are looking at these past rejections to try to figure out what it is they need to answer. My view has been that we’re overdue on approving one of these things,” she said.

Bitcoin ETFs are assets that are tradable on the stock exchanges and offer a more conservative way for all investors particularly institutional investors to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency without actually making a direct purchase.

Unattainable Standards in  Bitcoin ETF Applications and Implication

The commissioner also revealed that people’s expectations are usually cut short because a standard of approval which are difficult to fathom has been set, expressing optimism that a new Chairman may be the solution to see things in proper perspective.

“I also think we’ve dug ourselves into a bit of a difficult hole by setting standards for approval that are difficult to figure out how to satisfy. So I really don’t know where we’re going to go. I think that a new chairman with a fresh perspective can be helpful in rethinking the approach to approving exchange-traded products,” She said.

Considering the fact that Canada has made a frontline move in approving Bitcoin ETFs, Peirce believes not trailing this path in the nearest future will have its consequences.