The Securities and Exchange Commission has asked for comments regarding Wisdom Tree’s proposed Bitcoin ETF.
SEC delays decision on Wisdom Tree Bitcoin ETFNEWS
On July 13, the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, pushed back its decision on Wisdom Tree’s Bitcoin ETF with a request for public feedback. This request will allow members of the public to communicate their position on whether the trust should be approved or denied. The SEC’s notice stated:
“The Commission requests that interested persons provide written submissions of their views, data and arguments with respect to the issues identified above, as well as any other concerns they may have with the proposal.”
Public comments are required to be submitted to the Federal Register within 21 days, and rebuttals filed in 35 days from publication.
The SEC is asking for comments on whether the public believes that the proposed Bitcoin ETF would be susceptible to manipulation and whether the exchange’s proposal is designed to sufficiently prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices.
The SEC said in the release:
“The Exchange asserts that the manipulation concerns previously articulated by the Commission are sufficiently mitigated to the point that they are outweighed by quantifiable investor protection issues.”
Related: Wisdom Tree files Ether ETF application with SEC
The application was originally filed with the SEC on March 26, 2021 and the commission first asked the public to comment in April. On May 26, the SEC designated a longer period of time to approve or disapprove the proposed rule change. The SEC is currently reviewing many applications similar to this one,
including another one by Wisdom Tree for an Ether ETF. Barring another delay, a decision on this Bitcoin ETF could come later this year.
Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States (Fed) told the House of Representatives today that stablecoins should face stricter regulations similar to money market funds or bank deposits.
Powell was asked specifically about Tether (USDT), currently the most valuable stablecoin, by Representative Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH). Tether claimed that each coin was backed by a dollar, but that has been proven false. Rather, it is backed mostly by commercial paper or debts. Powell said most of the time those assets are very liquid, but during the recent financial crisis that wasn’t the case. He explained:
“The market just disappears. And that’s when people will want their money. It’s very simple: These are economic activities very similar to bank deposits and money market funds, and they need to be regulated in comparable ways,”
Powell went on to say that if Stablecoins are going to be a part of the payment universe, then regulations need to be put in place, as a regulatory framework currently “doesn’t exist, really, for stablecoins.”
He also added that he doesn’t see volatile crypto assets as being a part of the payment universe in the future. Crypto assets were mentioned in the 75-page Monetary Policy Report released last Friday. The call out was merely a single sentence, mentioned in the context of “risky assets” saying:
“The surge in the prices of a variety of crypto-assets also reflects in part increased risk appetite.”
Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) said a Central Bank Digital Currency, or CBDC, would cut down on the number of cryptocurrencies being launched:
“You wouldn’t need stablecoins, you wouldn’t need cryptocurrencies if you had a digital U.S. currency. I think that’s one of the strong arguments in its favor.”
Powell said a paper that focuses on the benefits and risks associated with a CBDC in the US will be out sometime in September.
He also responded to a question about the record inflation rates the US is experiencing, saying they have “increased notably and will likely remain elevated in coming months before moderating.”