USA Gets Its First Bitcoin ETF
Will This Ignite the Bull Run?
Since 2017, investors have been patiently waiting for a Bitcoin Exchange-traded fund (ETF). At least 10 asset managers sought approval to launch Bitcoin ETFs that year.
However, the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC), then headed by Jay Clayton, rejected all of them. His reasoning was clear- none of the ETFs were capable of assuring that the cryptocurrency market was free from manipulation.
Clayton’s tenure as chairman of SEC ended on December 23, 2020. Following Clayton’s retirement, Gary Gensler was nominated as the next SEC chairman by U.S President Joe Biden and sworn into office on April 27, 2021.
Gensler is no stranger to cryptocurrencies.
He is the former chairman of the world’s foremost commodities regulator (the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission). On top of that, he taught a course on blockchain and cryptocurrencies at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for three years.
On August 3, 2021, Gary Gensler gave his first speech on cryptocurrencies. He iterated that his prime focus was- ‘investor protection’ and assured that the SEC would play a more active role in regulating the cryptocurrency market.
