Peirce: Statement on Omnibus Approval Order for List and Trade Bitcoin-Based Commodity-Based Trust Shares and Trust Units

Hester continues to bring the heat

Gotta love it. Key points:

- ETPs, allowing investment in various assets including non-securities, are innovative financial tools that offer advantages like continuous trading and price alignment with the market.

- The SEC's approval of spot bitcoin ETPs comes after years of denying similar applications, despite the presence of bitcoin-based products in other regulatory frameworks and foreign jurisdictions.

- Previously, the SEC drove investors towards less efficient means of obtaining bitcoin exposure, such as non-exchange traded products or investments in bitcoin-related companies.

- The SEC's reluctance to approve spot bitcoin ETPs was based on concerns about market maturity and manipulation. However, the recent approval acknowledges measures to prevent fraud and manipulation, citing the high correlation between CME bitcoin futures market prices and spot bitcoin market prices.

- The decision follows a judicial rebuke, suggesting that the SEC has been applying a stricter standard to bitcoin products than to other commodity-based ETPs.

- The SEC's past handling of spot bitcoin ETP applications may have broader negative implications, including diminished public trust and diversion of resources from other critical work.