SEC Delays Cryptocurrency ETF Verdict, is This a Good Thing?

The United States (US) Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) yet again ruined the hopes of the public involved in the cryptocurrency industry, by rearranging a verdict on the launch of a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) to make a more dependable platform for significant institutional money to enter the digital currency markets. The US SEC’s delay of a crypto ETF is not such a bad thing since institution of such legal actions is suitable at this moment taking into consideration the legal and policy matters originating from the suggested rule amendment.

Crypto Community has no Option but to Wait

On May 23, the agency responsible for regulating the financial sector, released a document that underlines the main reasons for suspending the decision, noting that it is still establishing proceedings with the aim of ascertaining whether to approve or reject the application submitted in January by SolidX, CBOE and VanEck.  

The SEC demands a multitude of concerns to be settled first by the applicants before it approves or disapproves any ETF proposal, but up-to-now these considerations and necessities have never been met. Some of the concerns include: the occurrence of crypto market manipulation; irregularity of volume figures due to some acts like ‘wash trading’ made by some cryptocurrency exchanges; plus, the fortification of digital currency traders and all participants in the market.  

The US SEC set more 14 questions for the public to answer, and major concerns that the watchdog want to solve in the forthcoming proceedings, are all indicated in these queries. Several people within this sector have however remained positive despite the SEC’s frequent extensions of this particular judgement, in fact, they think this will bring permanency of digital currency venture in the mainstream.  

Vulnerability and Volatility of Crypto Market

The US SEC does not want to rush as it might make a premature and wrong decision on accepting or rejecting the rollout of exchange-traded funds. The agency aims at making the proceedings more transparent, safe and further protect all facilities at level needed for potential institutional investors.  

It is very popular that, most of the cryptocurrency businesses are vulnerable to deleterious events, for instance, hackers have increasingly attacked leading crypto exchanges in the market such as Mt. Gox, Bitfinex, Cryptopia, Binance, CoinBene, Coincheck, DragonEx and others are soon to be hacked. Bitcoin and cryptocurrency markets are also highly volatile compared to traditional (fiat) monetary markets, and that’s what makes SEC to ask for more time so as to allow more important suggestions, arguments, and solutions from blockchain experts and the crypto community that will help in making the final long awaited verdict.

The cryptocurrency community should understand that the US SEC is actually not opposing the digital currency market, but it wants to make the veracious kind of exchange-traded fund within the correct and positive circumstances. The judgement will now be scheduled for August 19th 2019, but that is if and only if the required conditions by SEC are fully met.