SEC approves trading of exchange-traded products with Bitcoin – Kommersant

Last night, US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler announcedthat his department has approved trading in exchange-traded products that use Bitcoin, including for retail investors. Mr. Gensler noted that the SEC previously refused to authorize a total of 20 exchange-traded funds trading Bitcoin because their operating conditions did not comply with US federal laws and SEC rules. However, fund managers have made changes to the operation of the funds, which now meets legal requirements.

First of all, this applies to the disclosure of information about products, trading volumes and other material facts, which should protect the rights of investors. In addition, these products will be traded on US national exchanges, where there is already a mechanism to control and counter manipulation and fraud. The SEC noted that 11 funds have been authorized, which should provide some competition and choice between different products and management companies, at least initially.

The SEC emphasized that “while we maintain a neutral position with respect to all assets permitted for trading, we would like to emphasize that unlike, for example, metals that are used in industrial and consumer markets, Bitcoin is a speculative and volatile asset. which is also used in illegal activities, in particular when receiving ransoms by extortionists, money laundering, sanctions evasion, terrorist financing, etc.”

How cryptocurrency is growing at the expense of competitors – in the Kommersant publication “Bitcoin has an account with the SEC.”

Evgeny Khvostik