Coinbase: Swift SEC approval of Bitcoin ETFs inevitable

Coinbase expressed optimism that Bitcoin-based exchange-traded funds could be approved in the United States as early as this year or 2022. The exchange said this in its industry overview for the first half of 2021 aimed at institutional investors.

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Our H1 2021 review covers one of the most active periods on record for crypto.

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— Coinbase Institutional (@CoinbaseInsto) July 27, 2021

“Many major ETF issuers believe that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may grant approval to crypto ETFs in 2021 or 2022. There are a number of reasons fueling this optimism,” the company\’s analysts said.

They noted that the regulator has rejected at least a dozen applications for listing Bitcoin ETFs. However, in their view, a number of favorable factors have emerged since then for the Commission to register such investment instruments:

• a new SEC leadership led by Gary Gensler, which they see as more sympathetic to the crypto market;
• the expanding presence of institutional players in the industry;
• growth in the volume of the digital-asset futures market to levels the regulator had cited as benchmarks;
• the successful debut of a Bitcoin ETF in Canada.

The company stressed that approval of Bitcoin ETFs would be a \”watershed moment for the industry\”, unlocking flows of new capital from previously inaccessible channels, such as broker-dealers or tax-advantaged accounts.

Coinbase also expects ETF issuers to use its custody, staking and trading services, which would bring the company additional revenue.

Earlier, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce called the regulator\’s requirements for Bitcoin ETF issuers inflated and urged the United States to catch up with other countries in regulating such products.