Bitcoin ETF applicant not surprised by delays (ft. Leah Wald)

Word on the Block | Forkast.News

Valkyrie’s application to open a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) has been delayed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). But Valkyrie’s chief executive is not surprised. She says a cautious approach is par for the course when it comes to approving any innovative financial product.

“Actually, when we first applied for a Bitcoin ETF back in January, right after VanEck, we had a timeline of about two to three years that we thought the application would be,” Valkyrie CEO Leah Wald told Forkast.News in a video interview. “We moved our timeline up when it seemed as if there was a lot more interest.”

A Bitcoin ETF is a financial instrument that reflects Bitcoin’s price and is traded on traditional exchanges, giving investors with minimal crypto knowledge exposure to the asset without purchasing it directly.

As Bitcoin ETF applications pile up for the SEC’s review — with Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest also recently adding to their number — some say the products should have been approved long ago. One of those voices is that of SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, who said that if the SEC’s standards for other products had been applied equally to Bitcoin ETFs, “one or more of them” would already have been approved.

Wald, however, recalled precedents that certain products take longer to obtain SEC approval.

“Even gold took a while,” she said. “Especially esoteric securities that are still being figured out from the rest of the agencies.”

Wald said excessive market volatility could be a concern for the SEC. Not the direct volatility relating to the prices and public sentiment trailing the crypto industry, but the ability of the industry’s infrastructure to handle that volatility.

“I think that the SEC has been pretty clear from the onset of all the Bitcoin ETF applications, even back in 2017, about concerns around custody,” Wald said. “Now, we finally do have true institutional-grade custodians, but there are still stress tests happening in the market.”

Watch Wald’s interview with

Forkast.News

Editor-in-Chief Angie Lau to learn more about the benefits of a Bitcoin ETF compared to over-the-counter trusts and mutual funds, the increasingly crowded field of Bitcoin ETF applicants, Wald’s positive outlook on Bitcoin and its technology, and more.