Benzinga - Ahead of a critical decision by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Better Markets CEO Dennis M. Kelleher has raised concerns about the potential approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
What Happened: In a letter to the SEC, Kelleher has called on the regulatory body to reconsider its approach to a spot Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) ETF, Cointelegraph reported.
Kelleher warned that such an approval contradicts the SEC’s core principles and could expose investors to serious risks, including potential fraud.
"We submit this supplemental comment letter (which Better Markets very rarely does) because it would be a grave if not historic mistake almost certainly leading to a massive investor harm if the SEC approves the pending rule change," Kelleher said.
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Meanwhile, the Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart criticized Kelleher’s efforts to stop Bitcoin ETF, labeling it a "criminal move."
“Would be an absolutely criminal move for this to happen considering the time effort and energy from all these issuers and from the SEC staff over the last few months,” Seyffart wrote on X.
Would be an absolutely criminal move for this to happen considering the time effort and energy from all these issuers AND from the SEC staff over the last few months https://t.co/QZR4pqcyga— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) January 5, 2024
The SEC is expected to make a decision on the Bitcoin ETF by Jan. 10 amidst submissions of 19b-4 amendment forms by 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applicants.
Why It Matters: A recent Bitwise survey revealed that only 39% of financial advisors were confident of the SEC approving the spot Bitcoin ETF this year.
However, economist Peter Schiff has issued a warning that those waiting for a Bitcoin ETF approval rally might be disappointed. He suggested a “buy the rumor, sell the rumor of the news” strategy.
The SEC has so far held meetings with several firms, including BlackRock Inc. (NYSE:BLK) and Grayscale Investments (OTC:GBTC), to discuss proposed Bitcoin ETFs. The deadline for final amendments was set for Dec. 29, 2023.
Price Action: At the time of writing, BTC was trading at $43,702.1338, up 0.06% in the last 24 hours, according to Benzinga Pro.
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