SEC has two Bitcoin ETF proposals on the table

The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has two Bitcoin ETF proposals to review. This marks the first time since August 2018 that more than one BTC ETF proposals have been on the table. One of them being the VanEck-SolidX ETF proposal which was resubmitted on January 31, kicking off the 45-day period during which SEC will have to approve, reject, or extend the proposal, to be able to make a final decision in up to 240 days.

The second one is the proposal by NYSE Arca and Bitwise Asset Management, which was submitted last week. Approval of either or both of the proposals would help legitimize cryptocurrencies significantly. Several experts have observed the SEC approval as one of the more significant obstacles to it becoming more widely invested in.

BitIRA's Blaskey noted that SEC acceptance would usher in robust participation from pension funds, mutual funds and other institutional investors who have been "limited" in their crypto investment activities so far. Blaskey said:

"They're more comfortable working through an ETF," Blaskey said. "The lack of regulation did scare them off. These institutional investors bring capital and capital brings legitimacy."

Jan van Eck, Chief Executive Officer of VanEck, said in a press release:

“I believe that Bitcoin has emerged as a legitimate investment option, as a type of 'digital gold' that may make sense for investors' portfolios...We believe that collectively we will build something that may be better than other constructs currently making their way through the regulatory process," continued van Eck. "A properly constructed physically-backed bitcoin ETF will be designed to provide exposure to the price of Bitcoin, and an insurance component will help protect shareholders against the operational risks of sourcing and holding bitcoin.”