Bitcoin
US Bitcoin ETFs: ‘Good’ for Crypto or Not? Analyst evaluates
- US Bitcoin ETFs have generated mixed signals on the crypto regulatory front.
- Apart from BTC, most crypto projects have faced regulatory uncertainty.
The USA’s place Bitcoin [BTC] The ETF’s approval in January continues to raise mixed feelings about whether it “legitimizes crypto.”
In a recent interview with Bitcoin Magazine, Neel Maitra, a former crypto expert at the SEC, said the January approval was “reluctant” and doesn’t look good for the market.
Part of his speech stated:
“Its (approval) was reluctant and was only for Bitcoin, and it is not good news for crypto in general.”
To support his arguments, Maitra cited the SEC’s rejection of spot BTC ETFs for the past seven years before the courts forced its decision.
Furthermore, the agency emphasized that the approval was limited to BTC and should not be read as a general crypto approval.
Divergent opinions on the impact of Bitcoin ETF
However, Franklin Bi, general partner at Pantera Capital, had a contrary opinion. In an interview with “The Block”, the executive stated that the approval of US spot BTC ETFs “validated crypto”.
He further commented,
“The approval really showed people that, directionally speaking, regulation is still moving in a positive direction for digital assets.”
The executive added that the approval also convinced many institutional investors that crypto is a long-term technology trend worth exploring.
True to Bi’s word, US spot BTC ETFs have been receiving enormous interest from institutional participants.
For example, the world’s leading asset manager BlackRock had an impressive BTC ETF debut and is eyeing the tokenization of real-world assets on the blockchain.
However, regulatory heat in the industry still exists. Despite the approvals, the SEC filed lawsuits against Uniswap [UNI] and Consensys’ MetaMask.
Furthermore, the agency did not clearly state whether Ethereum [ETH] It is not security. This led Consensys to process the SEC and seek clarity from the courts on the status of ETH.
In a separate development, a new class lawsuit against Coinbase claims that the exchange induced investors to buy “securities” like Solana [SOL], Zoom in [NEAR]and UNI, among others.
That said, BTC has had regulatory clarity following January’s ETF approvals. However, several cryptocurrency projects and tokens like ETH face regulatory uncertainty.
Will it take more than ETF approval to validate the legitimacy of crypto in the US?