According to Jan Van Eck, CEO of investment management firm VanEck, it is highly unlikely that investors will have a Bitcoin ETF offered in the US anytime soon.
Bitcoin ETF Seems Difficult to Come Soon, According To VanEck CEO
"There's no luck," Van Eck said as part of a panel at the Bitcoin 2023 conference in Miami Beach on Thursday. “Even if the SEC loses the Grayscale case, they will drag their feet.
That's why I don't see it in the next year and a half." Van Eck was referring to asset manager Grayscale Investments' ongoing lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where it sought to convert its Bitcoin fund into an ETF.
Van Eck also talked about recent applications by rival ETF firms for funds based on Ethereum futures.
“The SEC will drag their feet,” Van Eck said. "They have a lot of regulatory tools at their disposal."
The crypto industry has long wanted a Bitcoin ETF in the US, but regulators were very hesitant to approve it.
Over the years, a number of issuers have ventured into a spot product. Regulators have in the past cited, among other things, market manipulation as a reason for refusing approval.
But Bitcoin futures funds have been trading since 2021, and many of the problems analysts warned ahead of this launch have since fallen by the wayside.
Van Eck's company operates a number of ETFs and is known for its range of funds. In 2021, it launched the VanEck Bitcoin Strategy ETF (ticker XBTF), based on Bitcoin futures. Meanwhile, the SEC rejected VanEck's proposal for an ETF that would hold Bitcoin directly at the end of 2021.
*Not investment advice.