Crypto billionaire and Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss has taken issue with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) over its refusal to license bitcoin cash exchange-traded funds.
In a Tweeter On Saturday, Winklevoss said the refusal to license such products has been “a disaster for American investors.”
What are crypto ETFs?
Exchange Traded Funds or ETFs are listed investment products. They allow investors to buy shares in a fund, which usually tracks a specific index or asset class.
Crypto ETFs provide a way for people to invest in crypto without having to hold virtual assets themselves. Instead, they can delegate custody and investment strategy to professional fund managers.
The concept has been hotly debated recently after several large institutional investment firms filed applications for bitcoin ETFs with the SEC. Even the world’s largest investment firm, Blackrock, jumped on the latest TradFi craze.
However, even with the clout of financial giants like Blackrock behind them, the SEC rejected recent bids for Bitcoin ETFs.
Disputing that they did not name the spot bitcoin exchange with which the asset managers signed a “supervisory sharing agreement”, the SEC called the documents “inadequate”.
However, Fidelity, VanEck, Invesco/Galaxy and Ark Invest all refiled their applications last week. In response to SEC complaints, they named Coinbase their partner exchange in the updated submissions.
“A disaster for American investors” – Cameron Winklevoss
With the topic of crypto ETFs trending in light of the latest news, Cameron Winklevoss took the opportunity to give his two cents.
In Saturday’s tweet, Winklevoss pointed out that Gemini first submitted a bitcoin ETF application to the SEC a decade ago. He called the SEC’s refusal to approve these products for so long “a complete and utter disaster for American investors.”
Additionally, he called the SEC a “failed regulator” and argued that its policy pushed foreign bitcoin spot activity to unregulated venues.
He added that it has also pushed investors into “toxic products” like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). Compared to alternatives such as Bitcoin ETFs, GBTC does not offer investors good value for money.
Huge demand for crypto ETFs
The United States has so far banned the listing place crypto funds on exchange. But the first bitcoin futures contracts The ETF was approved in 2021. Listed on the New York Stock Exchange, ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF has seen strong demand. In fact, the fund attracted more than $1 billion in its first two days of trading alone.
And Cameron Winklevoss may be onto something in his assertion that SEC policy was driving capital overseas. With limited options for accessing crypto investment opportunities on US exchanges, other places have embraced exchange-traded products that track the price of BTC and other crypto assets.
Regulators in countries like Canada, Germany, Sweden, and Brazil have all given Bitcoin ETFs the green light. Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, the first crypto ETFs, CSOP Bitcoin Futures ETF and CSOP Ether Futures ETF were listed on HKEX in December.
And in recent days, Hong Kong crypto ETFs have received another major boost. As BeinInCrypto reported, HSBC is giving people access to both CSOP funds on its investment platform. The bank has also approved the Samsung Bitcoin Futures Active ETF for trading.
Disclaimer
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