In the statement released following the most recent round of rejections, the SEC stressed that this decision “does not rest on an evaluation of whether bitcoin, or blockchain technology more generally, has utility or value as an innovation or an investment.”
Brian Kelly, founder and CEO of cryptocurrency investment firm BKCM LLC, is also optimistic on the prospect of an ETF approval and thinks it might come early next year.
“To me, February 2019 is likely the earliest that we can get [an ETF approved]” he says. “Why do I say that? Bob [Pisani of CNBC] just mentioned that the VanEck decision is going to come at the end of September, but actually have until the end of February [2019], so I would expect in September, they push it off.”
However, it’s possible the SEC could approve an ETF before 2019. Shortly after the most recent slew of ETFs were rejected, the SEC announced that they would be reviewing some of those decisions, opening up the possibility for approval.
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