- Winklevoss slams SEC for rejecting Bitcoin ETF.
- SEC’s denial pushed investors toward risky alternatives like GBTC with high fees.
- Offshore trading venues and FTX benefited from SEC’s stance.
Gemini co-founder Cameron Winklevoss took to Twitter to express his frustration on the 10th anniversary of his and Tyler Winklevoss’ initial filing for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) with the U.S. regulator.
Winklevoss argued that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) continuous refusal to approve such products had been a disastrous outcome for U.S. investors.
Winklevoss claimed that the SEC’s actions had not only denied investors access to the best-performing asset of the past decade but had also pushed them towards risky alternatives like the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), notorious for its trading discount and exorbitant fees.
Today marks 10 years since @tyler and I filed for the first spot Bitcoin ETF. The @SECGov's refusal to approve these products for a decade has been a complete and utter disaster for US investors and demonstrates how the SEC is a failed regulator. Here's why:-"protected"… pic.twitter.com/xmK1xo1iX8— Cameron Winklevoss (@cameron) July 2, 2023
Furthermore, Winklevoss argued that the SEC’s stance had inadvertently driven spot bitcoin trading activities overseas to unregulated venues and pushed investors into the arms of FTX, a platform later embroiled in one of the most significant financial frauds in recent memory.
In his scathing tweet, Winklevoss urged the SEC to reevaluate its track record and focus on its core mandate of safeguarding investors, fostering fair markets, and facilitating capital formation. He believed a different approach could have yielded more favorable outcomes for investors.
In the comment section, an NFT enthusiast asked about the impact of recent filings by BlackRock and Fidelity. Experts have argued that the arrival of such heavyweights into the crypto investment scene holds promise, potentially changing the dynamics around ETFs.
Aaron Carroll, CEO of Dexani.io, could not help but add a touch of sarcasm to the situation. Carroll poked fun at SEC Chairman Gary Gensler‘s statement, where he allegedly claimed that ‘the law is clear.’
Carroll’s playful eye-roll emoji highlighted the irony of the situation: a decade had passed, and yet the long-awaited Bitcoin ETF remained elusive, despite the clarity of the law, according to Gensler.
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