US Counsel: Jay Clayton’s SEC Will Never Approve A Bitcoin ETF

The US Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in the crypto news lately for rejecting the Bitcoin exchange traded fund (ETF) application by Bitwise. Despite that, Bitwise will refile its application soon enough and prove that they are committed to their causes when it comes to exchange-traded funds. However, according to the general US Counsel named Jake Chervinsky, the current SEC led by Jay Clayton will never approve a Bitcoin ETF project.

The general counsel, known as member of the New York based Kobre & Kim, LLP, thinks that Bitcoin as an asset remains “susceptible to manipulation and surveillance-sharing agreements.” This means that no matter how the ETF backers decorate their applications, the US counsel thinks that the SEC officials would continue to reject them under the guise of the Exchange Act.

“Clayton’s term ends on June 5, 2021, but could go another 18 months longer,” said Chervinsky on Twitter. “Usually, we’d see new ETF proposals filed immediately after rejection, but it might be time to take a year off.”

Depends. If the SEC adopted Commissioner Peirce's view on the Exchange Act, then manipulation in underlying markets would be irrelevant. The only issue would be manipulation of the ETF itself: https://t.co/PTVF8Act4l

— Jake Chervinsky (@jchervinsky) October 10, 2019

The statement comes around right in times when SEC rejected the Bitcoin ETF application by Bitwise Asset Management in partnership with NYSE Arca. As the cryptocurrency news today show, the market is in a loss but BTC managed to recover at $8,500.

The order by the SEC also reiterated that both NYSE Arca failed to respond to their concerns related to price manipulation or other illegal activities. SEC’s latest decision on the Bitcoin ETF asserted its conservative approach towards the emerging assets.

This is why the US counsel thinks that SEC leaves a large portion of cryptocurrency enthusiasts disappointed, noting that the regulatory body will continue to do so in the future. The republican SEC commissioner was only among the five to have supported a Bitcoin ETF.

While the US counsel thinks that Jay Clayton will never approve a Bitcoin ETF, analysts on Twitter are more focused on the price in the Bitcoin price news today. Alex Kruger, for instance, noted that after the ETF rejection, Bitcoin is stable.

The Bitwise ETF proposal was in many ways similar to the new Bitfinex/Tether lawsuit. Both presented facts through a heavily stained glass. The SEC rejection should have been fully priced in. A non-event. https://t.co/OCNlQu7F2N

— Alex Krüger (@krugermacro) October 9, 2019

Nonetheless, an approved Bitcoin ETF could have opened a lot of investors towards Bitcoin and as a study from earlier indicated, it could also bring a 500% rally on the market in the months to come.