Bitcoin (BTC) is the most valuable cryptocurrency in circulation. Its prospects are exciting for investors but its value has reached heights that make direct investment nearly impossible for startups. Fortunately, an exchange-traded fund (ETF) for the asset has been issued and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) of the United States is interested in regulating it.
An ETF is a mutual fund from multiple investors, giving an exchange a pooled fund dedicated to investing in Bitcoin’s market. Every participant is paid regularly at an agreed rate, making their passive income scale with how much they give. This makes the Bitcoin ETF a great way for upstart investors to join the crypto industry and it’s about to start in full swing in 2024.
US Congress tells SEC to approve ETF ‘immediately’
The element that made the Bitcoin ETF vital for investors is the support it gets from the United States – one of the most economically powerful countries in the world. Its lawmakers showed full support for the new asset and pushed the SEC to approve it sooner than 2024. However, the regulating body insists that it needs to properly study its parameters closely.
What makes this a major news is that the SEC is leaning towards blocking the ETF from regulatory approval. They have been notorious for closing any crypto-related deal, slowing down US citizens’ capitalisation of digital assets compared to other nations in Europe and Africa. This severely affects access to exchanges and casino crypto sites in the country.
Analysts eye Bitcoin maturity if ETF is approved
What made the US Congress excited over the Bitcoin ETF is its potential for an economic surge in the crypto fund management industry. Analysts published a research note on 25 September that it can move from a $50 billion to $500 to $600 billion industry in five years. The US Congress aims to help US investors be among the first to capitalise on it.
As of 2023, it is believed that the Bitcoin market is still in its infancy with plenty of room to grow. There are many projects revolving around the asset in efforts to make it boom but the challenge is making it accessible to a wider audience. The Bitcoin ETF could do exactly that, moving Bitcoin from a cottage industry to a formal, regulated asset management industry.
Bitcoin ETF approval challenged by political pressure
The SEC’s guidelines aren’t the only factor that stops the Bitcoin ETF from being accepted. Crypto, in general, is facing political setbacks. One of which is President Joe Biden’s administration declaring no interest in fully supporting digital assets in his term. Another factor includes Wall Street’s activist investors who are against blockchain technology in general.
Political factors are major roadblocks for any kind of progress. This is because these are unpredictable. They are not part of any strict rules that are easy to understand and communicate. Unless politics is removed as a determining factor in regulations, then crypto, as an industry, will continue to struggle to improve.
Allowing an industry to grow requires strict policies and rigid guidelines to follow. That means the SEC and similar regulatory bodies need to be entirely legislative when deciding how they evaluate an investment opportunity. If that is the reality, then exchanges and casino crypto will be in a much more progressive state worldwide.
