Bitcoin ETF approval could take 20 years - Reckons the SEC’s commissioner

The investors in the crypto industry have been advised by a commissioner of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not to hold their breath in wait for a Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund. The commissioner said this while speaking at the Digital Asset Investment Forum. The Forum took place last year on December 5 in Washington DC.

The commissioner, Hester Peirce nicknamed “crypto mom” by the crypto asset community has been very dissected with some of the SEC’s decisions especially those concerning Bitcoin ETF proposal from the founders of Gemini exchange, the Winklevoss twins. She reckons that an exchange traded fund for the largest crypto by market capitalization is quite possible. At the same time, she clarifies that the approval could take many years.

“Definitely possible could be 20 years from now or it could be tomorrow. Don’t hold your breath. The SEC took a long time to [establish] Finhub. It might take even longer to approve an exchange traded product.”

She explained that she is doing her best to ask her colleagues “to have a bit more of an open mind” in regards to the adoption of digital assets. However, she maintains that it is not easy and could take much longer. She added:

“I think we need to encourage institutionalization in crypto space. That’s not what the people in the space want, but I think there are institutional folks who want to be in this space [...] And the best way that we can offer retail investors to get into this space is through a place that’s more institutionalized.”

She advised that participants in the crypto space must continue to stay within the law while the government figures out if the same guidelines are stifling innovation.

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