The crypto industry is cautiously optimistic that a spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) will finally be approved by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the near future. However, BitGo CEO Mike Belshe believes the market should prepare for potential rejections.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Belshe noted that while he is hopeful about the eventual approval of Bitcoin ETFs, the market structure and custodial issues remain unresolved.
The CEO pointed out that before FTX’s collapse, Sam Bankman-Fried unsuccessfully tried convincing regulators to adopt his vision for crypto regulation. Wall Street giants like BlackRock and Franklin Templeton seem to be taking a similar approach by choosing Coinbase Custody to store the cryptocurrency underlying their proposed ETFs.
“I’m not trying to say that they [Coinbase] are an FTX by any means. [But] they are taking on also kind of that same playbook in addition to being an exchange and a custodian.” Mike Belshe said.
Belshe suggested the SEC could reject multiple ETF applications, demanding that applicants separate their custodian services from exchanges due to risks. Meanwhile, the regulator continues scrutinizing spot Bitcoin ETFs over concerns about market manipulation.
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