29.03.2024

US SEC Chairman on Bitcoin ETFs: ‘There Is Work Left to Be Done’

Cointelegraph previously reported that the commission will delay its decision on Wilshire Phoenix’s United States Bitcoin and Treasury Investment Trust to Sept. 20.

Bitwise’s listing on NYSE Arca and VanEck’s listing will have to wait until Oct. 13 and Oct. 18, respectively. The SEC previously postponed decisions on both ETFs, but now must make its final decision on or before the aforementioned dates.

United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton recently spoke with CNBC‘s Bob Pisani regarding the regulator’s latest take on Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

‘Progress is being made’

Speaking with Pisani on Sept. 9, the SEC chairman stated that, although significant steps have been taken to address regulatory concerns vis-a-vis a Bitcoin ETF, there is “work left to be done.” Clayton went on to say that the SEC’s questions in regard to Bitcoin ETFs were not trivial, adding:

“Given that they trade on largely unregulated exchanges … how can we be sure that those prices aren’t subject to significant manipulation? Now progress is being made, but people needed to answer those hard questions for us to be comfortable that this was the appropriate type of product.”

Clayton has previously mentioned that the commission was working on making Bitcoin ETF’s a possibility for investors in the U.S., but emphasized the need for security in regulated markets, saying:

“We’re engaging on this, but there are a couple of things about it that we need to feel comfortable with. The first is custody: custody is a long-standing requirement in our markets, and if you say you have something you really have it.”

Bitcoin Dominance ‘Reverting to Mean’ of 90%, Says Blockstream CEO

Bitcoin is reverting to its historical 90%+ market dominance at altcoins’ expense, one of the industry’s best-known figures has declared.

Back: Bitcoin will hit 90% dominance again

In a Twitter debate with Primitive Fund co-founder Dovey Wan on Sept. 9, Blockstream CEO Adam Back said altcoins’ previous supremacy was a temporary feature of the cryptocurrency space.

Wan had queried whether Bitcoin would continue making market cap gains, and if these would become a permanent new status quo.

As Cointelegraph reported, Bitcoin’s share of the overall crypto market cap now stands at around 70%, its highest since March 2017.

The scales have shifted in BTC’s favor dramatically this year; at one point in 2018, Bitcoin accounted for less than 40% of the cap.

“It’s a reversion to mean”, Back summarized about the current trend, adding the full cycle takes around two-and-a-half years to complete.

As such, he said, building on arguments he made in August, Bitcoin should end up back at 90% market cap dominance or even higher, as was the case prior to 2015.

Altcoin death narrative gains strength

Many have already voiced their agreement on Bitcoin’s return to form. In recent weeks, vocal criticism of altcoins has come from veteran trader Peter Brandt and RT host Max Keiser.

Both believe alt markets have boomed and burst, with Keiser repeatedly claiming they will never recover from losses against BTC seen over the past year.

Technical support forms a major factor in the latter’s argument. Bitcoin’s network hash rate – an indicator of how much computing power is dedicated to maintaining it – is currently hitting all-time highs on an almost daily basis.

Meanwhile, separate research has already argued Bitcoin’s actual position among cryptocurrencies is already more than 90%.

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