Over the past couple of years, SEC has been ruthless in delaying and denying the Bitcoin ETF. But still the latest entrant in this race of Bitcoin ETF, Bitwise Asset Management feels SEC is not Anti Crypto but it usually takes time to approve the “first” ETF in every category that has appeared in front of it.

Contributing to Anthony Pompliano’s blog, the team at Bitwise Asset Management have given some fantastic insights on SEC and it’s the regulators thought process on the Bitcoin ETF. Bitwise also gives some views on how the industry is anticipating the Bitcoin ETF and whether there is a need of one.

According to the post, the biggest misconception that the industry today is encountering while discussing the outlook for a crypto ETF is the belief that the SEC is fundamentally anti-crypto. The major reason for such a view for SEC comes from the fact that the regulator has had multiple delays in approving the first Bitcoin ETF. But if one looks at the history the every “first” in the ETF industry had to wait for multiple years before crossing the line. Bitwise list downs the “firsts” and the time each one has taken to cross it. It took

• More than six years between the first filing for a leveraged ETF and the first SEC approval;
• Nearly six years between the publication of the SEC’s first “conceptual release” on actively managed ETFs and the approval of the first active ETF;
• Nine years between the launch of the first ETF and the launch of the first fixed-income ETF, despite significant efforts in the interim.

Even the relative faster approvals that came in for innovation, like self-indexing and commodities, it still took quite some time for the approvals to come in. According to the post

“The fastest major “first” may have been gold bullion, as it took “only” two years from idea to launch of the first U.S.-listed gold bullion ETF (ticker: GLD). That speed, however, had a cost: According to the Wall Street Journal, the World Gold Council spent $14 million developing the fund. Not to mention that gold is an asset that’s been around for thousands of years, or that a gold bullion ETF launched first in Australia.”

Looking at the facts that Bitwise has put forward, it looks like SEC may delay but will surely approve Bitcoin ETF, but only ones its queries are sorted and it has enough confidence that the investor interest is protected in this process.

When do think the first Bitcoin ETF will finally be approved? Do let us know your views on the same.