Two US Senators have not too long ago expressed considerations to the Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) relating to the approval of additional crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
Senators Jack Reed and Laphonza Butler, in a communication with SEC Chair Gary Gensler, highlighted the potential dangers to retail traders, particularly citing the probabilities of fraud and manipulation in markets for smaller cryptocurrencies. They emphasised the findings of a FINRA survey, revealing that 70% of brokers’ interactions with retail traders breached honest disclosure norms, with deceptive comparisons of cryptocurrency to money and insufficient explanations of dangers.
The senators critiqued the terminology used for bitcoin ETFs, suggesting it conceals vital features of those investments. They identified the heightened threat to traders from ETFs that reference much less steadily traded cryptocurrencies or these prone to market manipulations like pump-and-dump schemes.
“Brokers’ communications falsely equated cryptocurrency with money; in others, they offered deceptive explanations of cryptocurrency’s dangers,” they highlighted, stressing in regards to the risks of misinformation within the sector.
Moreover, Reed and Butler cautioned towards permitting the current approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs to set a precedent for future endorsements. The senators advocated for extra rigorous oversight of Bitcoin ETFs and the advisory providers associated to them, given the much less regulated nature of different cryptocurrency markets.
“Retail traders would face huge dangers from ETPs referencing thinly traded cryptocurrencies or cryptocurrencies whose costs are particularly prone to pump-and-dump or different fraudulent schemes,” the senators warned.
This stance has drawn harsh criticism from trade specialists. Coinbase’s Chief Authorized Officer, Paul Grewal, publicly countered the senators’ considerations, arguing that established markets for main cryptocurrencies like Ether exhibit strong metrics that examine favorably with the biggest traded equities. Grewal highlighted Ether’s market depth and liquidity, asserting a direct correlation in Ether’s futures and spot markets akin to that noticed in Bitcoin’s markets.
The letter follows discussions between Coinbase, crypto asset supervisor Grayscale, and SEC officers that occurred on March 6, specializing in the potential approval of spot Ether ETFs. The assembly emphasised Coinbase’s argument for parity within the SEC’s therapy of Bitcoin and Ether ETFs.
A number of analysts have speculated on the SEC’s apprehensions relating to the approval of Ether ETFs, citing considerations over market correlation disparities. But, the anticipation grows because the crypto trade and regulators proceed their dialogue forward of a major resolution deadline for an Ether ETF, marked for Could 23.