Hester Peirce: Bitcoin ETF Should Have Been Approved Five Years Ago

The exchange-traded spot fund (ETF) based on the leading cryptocurrency should have been approved five years ago, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce said in an interview with CNBC.

“I can’t say whether the Commission is ready to approve a Bitcoin ETF. […] The logic of why we haven’t done this yet has always puzzled me,” Peirce stressed.

In July the SEC took up applications to launch spot funds tied to digital gold from BlackRock, VanEck, Invesco, Fidelity Investments and WisdomTree. Later joined Franklin Templeton.

The SEC official acknowledged that her views on digital assets differ markedly from the agency’s own stance. According to Peirce, she “cannot predict how her colleagues will approach this topic.”

On August 31 the regulator delayed a decision on several applications at least until mid-October. At the end of September the regulator moved the consideration of the Bitcoin ETF to January 2024.

Peirce has long been an advocate for cryptocurrency. Earlier she said that regulatory uncertainty is harmful to American citizens.

In September the official hinted at possible changes to SEC crypto policy. In Peirce’s own admission, she did not expect the Commission to be so slow in seeking solutions for the regulatory framework for digital assets when she joined the agency in 2018.

As noted, the agency is pursuing civil suits against Coinbase and Binance. This year the Commission settled claims with major Bitcoin exchanges Kraken and Bittrex.

In August a court sided with Grayscale in the case against the SEC over the conversion of GBTC into an exchange-traded fund. The regulator refused to file an appeal against that verdict.

In October the SEC dropped the suit against Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen and CEO Brad Garlinghouse with charges of violating securities laws.