Dennis M. Kelleher, CEO of the nonprofit group Better Markets, has called on the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) not to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). He argued that this was contrary to the regulatory body's core principles.
in letter Kelleher wrote to SEC Secretary Vanessa Countryman on January 5, stressing that investors could face significant risks if the SEC approves a spot Bitcoin ETF.
“We are filing this supplemental comment letter (which Better Markets rarely does) because if the SEC approves the pending rule changes, it would be a significant, if not historic, mistake. , which would almost certainly result in significant losses for investors.
Kelleher argued that the proposed product would expose investors to the risk of potential fraud, which has been a concern since the creation of the crypto industry.
“The approval of these spot Bitcoin ETPs not only exposes investors to a market completely contaminated with fraud and manipulation,” he said.
This comes as Cointelegraph recently reported that over 324,000 crypto users fell victim to phishing scams in 2023, with around $295 million in digital assets lost to wallet drainers. Ta.
Meanwhile, Kelleher further explained that this will also allow the crypto industry to claim that their products have been approved by the US government.
Related: ARK's Cathie Wood sees short-term impact on Spot Bitcoin ETF as 'selling on news'
However, prominent crypto commentators dismissed the letter, with Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert criticizing it on social media.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Seifert reiterated that the asset management company is putting in a lot of effort to move forward with the application.
Considering the time and energy of all these issuers and SEC staff over the past several months, this is an absolutely criminal act. https://t.co/QZR4pqcyga
— James Seyffert (@JSeyff) January 5, 2024
Meanwhile, elsewhere post On X, Fox Business journalist Eleanor Terret echoed Kelleher's recent negative comments about cryptocurrencies.
“This is worse than fantasy, it's a fraud against the people,” she recalled.
Kelleher made this comment on one of his shows. interview In May 2023, we partnered with the Institute for New Economic Thinking.
In more recent news, 11 of the Bitcoin ETF spot applicants filed their 19b-4 amended forms before the close of business on January 5th.
Although these forms are one of the final steps in the SEC approval process, S-1 documents must be completed before U.S. exchanges can begin listing shares of investment securities with direct exposure to cryptocurrencies .
The SEC has until January 10 to approve or reject spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Magazine: A new player enters the Bitcoin ETF race, Binance ends support for BUSD, and more: Hodler's Digest: November 26th – December 2nd
