Bitcoin is approaching its all-time high, a development highly anticipated by market watchers.
Experts attribute this increase to the approval of Bitcoin ETFs by regulators earlier this year.
The person at the center of this development is none other than US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler. Gensler approved the highly anticipated 11-spot Bitcoin ETF in January, which has sent the Bitcoin price soaring ever since.
Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Eric Balchunas expressed his admiration for Gensler's success and said, “Gensler should be really proud. This is a great achievement.” According to Balchunas, ETFs have provided a safe and easy way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin.
“The new ETFs are great, they are really good at what they do, especially compared to the ones that came before them,” Balchunas said, praising the effectiveness of ETFs. He highlighted the multitude of security measures available, including accessibility, affordability, liquidity, tax efficiency and regulation, legal documentation and risk disclosures.
This led to a surge in investment, and the value of Bitcoin rose along with the daily trading volume of BlackRock's new iShares Bitcoin Trust, which broke records and exceeded $10 billion.
Despite the industry's gratitude to Gensler for ETFs and a rally that has seen Bitcoin rise nearly 40% this year, temporarily surpassing $63,000 this week, Gensler's tenure has been marked by a crackdown on crypto companies. Gensler has repeatedly claimed that the industry is rife with fraud and improprieties.
He made it clear that when he approved ETFs, he did so only because he was instructed to do so by the courts. Balchunas suggested that Gensler should take a victory lap after approving ETFs because they are a tool to limit the audience that scammers and fraudsters can reach.
Balchunas said ETFs are a win for consumer protection and that is consistent with the SEC's mission. He expressed his belief that the SEC had previously turned a blind eye to the fact that ETFs would help achieve this goal.
Gensler likely believed that approving ETFs would legitimize Bitcoin and crypto more generally. However, Gensler noted that the SEC's approval of ETFs does not mean approval of Bitcoin itself and warned investors to be cautious about the numerous risks associated with Bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto.
Despite this, Balchunas noted that the SEC has already legalized cryptocurrencies, investors can buy from Coinbase, a listed company, and the SEC has already approved Bitcoin futures products. “It was already pretty legitimized, ETFs are just a better way to do it.”
*This is not investment advice.