Why Won’t the SEC Approve a Bitcoin ETF? With Perianne Boring

Nov 9 2022 • 1hr 43m

Show Notes

“I think these policy fights for Bitcoin, this is the fight of my generation; and I think it’s absolutely important that we as Bitcoiners, and people who care about this technology, understand these political fights, these legal fights because if we get the policy wrong, it can totally skew our future.”— Perianne BoringPerianne Boring is the Founder and CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce. In this interview, we discuss the history of Bitcoin spot ETF proposals, the numerous rejections and changing conditions for approval, and why the SEC won’t approve a Bitcoin spot ETF. - - - - The first application for a Bitcoin spot ETF in the US was made by the Winklevoss brothers back in 2013. The SEC rejected this proposal in 2017. Since then the SEC has rejected applications from at least 16 different companies, some of whom have made multiple applications. The last rejection was in early October. It’s not that the SEC dislikes ETFs. There are over 2,500 ETFs in the US market with over $7.2 trillion AUM. Further, there is also strong demand in the market: over 99% of the 11,400 letters sent to the SEC in relation to Grayscale’s ETC application were in support. In the meantime, Bitcoin spot ETFs are being approved across the world, most notably across the border in Canada.The Chamber of Digital Commerce, the blockchain trade association, has assessed the history of Bitcoin spot ETF applications accounted for in a report. This outlines major inconsistencies in the way the SEC treats applications: denials have conditions applied for subsequent applications; these conditions are met, the new applications are denied; rinse and repeat.In addition, in 2021 the SEC approved the first US Bitcoin futures ETF. Whilst the performance of the Bitcoin futures ETF has tracked the Bitcoin price reasonably closely, futures markets are by their very nature volatile as futures contracts can be unpredictable. So, it is potentially a less safe vehicle for investment. The obvious question is, therefore: why won’t the SEC approve a Bitcoin spot ETF? Perianne Boring, the CEO of the Chamber of Digital Commerce, is of the opinion the decision is political in nature. There is a wave of money waiting to invest in such an ETF, which would accelerate the adoption of Bitcoin. This is something many decision-makers are resistant to. What’s clear is that with Grayscale suing the SEC the issue is coming to a head.- - - - This episode’s sponsors:Gemini - Buy Bitcoin instantlyLedn - Financial services for Bitcoin hodlersBitcasino - The Future of Gaming is hereFidelity - Careers in cryptoLedger - State of the art Bitcoin hardware walletWasabi Wallet - Privacy by defaultTexas Blockchain Summit - Nov 17-18, 2022 | Austin, TexasBCB Group - Global digital financial Services-----WBD578 - Show Notes-----If you enjoy The What Bitcoin Did Podcast you can help support the show by doing the following:Become a Patron and get access to shows early or help contributeMake a tip:Bitcoin: 3FiC6w7eb3dkcaNHMAnj39ANTAkv8Ufi2SQR Codes: BitcoinIf you do send a tip then please email me so that I can say thank youSubscribe on iTunes | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | YouTube | Deezer | TuneIn | RSS FeedLeave a review on iTunesShare the show and episodes with your friends and familySubscribe to the newsletter on my websiteFollow me on Twitter Personal | Twitter Podcast | Instagram | Medium | YouTubeIf you are interested in sponsoring the show, you can read more about that here or please feel free to drop me an email to discuss options.

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@ghostoftronsington

500 sats

Nov 9 2022

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@user7734723683682430

350 sats

Nov 11 2022

Around the 50 minute mark, it was mentioned that the formula(e) behind CPI are not publicly available. I’d be very curious if anyone has made a formal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for CPI formulae, and if so, what was the rationale for rejecting it. I once heard someone got the CIA’s (or NSA’s) internal software development training materials published for the Python programming language with a FOIA request, so a FOIA Request actually does something sometimes. Seems worth a try.

@dugandrupe

210 sats

Nov 10 2022

such a great episode and definitely think the final minutes should be publicised widely. people need the freedom to opt out of the system. the etf may not be the ideal way, but at least it helps them “get off zero” and get them down the rabbit hole.

@user7734723683682430

Nov 11 2022

Thanks. I was originally going to skip this episode, but your comment convinced me to listen to it, and I’m glad I did.👍

@butterflywhsprs

200 sats

Nov 17 2022

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@user7194279473496806

100 sats

Nov 16 2022

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@ryzeqwispy