SEC did not ‘approve or endorse Bitcoin’ with spot BTC ETF nod — Gary Gensler

United States Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler has reiterated that his agency still doesn’t endorse Bitcoin (BTC) — despite approving 11 spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on Jan. 10.

“While we approved the listing and trading of certain spot Bitcoin ETP shares today, we did not approve or endorse Bitcoin,” Gensler wrote in a Jan. 10 statement, just an hour after the historic approvals came through.

Gensler reiterated his agency’s stance towards the cryptocurrency, contrasting Bitcoin’s “speculative” nature with the utility of precious metals such as gold, silver, and platinum. He added that the regulator remained "merit neutral" and does not take a view on particular companies, investments, or the assets underlying an exchange-traded product.

Despite this, Gensler made specific mention that Bitcoin was still used frequently to settle transactions in nefarious and illicit activities. There has, however, been mounting evidence to the contrary. 

“Though we’re merit neutral, I’d note that the underlying assets in the metals ETPs have consumer and industrial uses, while in contrast Bitcoin is primarily a speculative, volatile asset that’s also used for illicit activity including ransomware, money laundering, sanction evasion, and terrorist financing."

“Investors should remain cautious about the myriad risks associated with bitcoin and products whose value is tied to crypto,” Gensler added. 

Related: Spot Ethereum ETFs now have a straight shot for approval: Analysts

Once again, Gensler repeated his agency's view that the "vast majority" of crypto assets are investment contracts, and should fall under the regulatory jurisdiction of the SEC. In its separate lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase, the regulator listed a total of 68 crypto assets that it deems to be securities,  

On Jan. 10, the securities regulator approved the 19b-4 applications from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton.

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