Why the world needs a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US: 21Shares CEO explains

cointelegraph.com:

Despite the growing adoption of various cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) all over the world, the global trading community continues to ask one question: When will a spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETF go live in the United States?

According to some ETF analysts, a spot Bitcoin ETF could become real in mid-2023, following years of rejection by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Despite the SEC’s apparent unwillingness to allow such a product, industry players like Grayscale continue to actively push for a spot BTC ETF.

There are a decent number of reasons why a potential approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by the SEC remains one of the most anticipated events in the community.

21Shares CEO Hany Rashwan believes that a spot Bitcoin ETF would open up the crypto market to institutional and retail investors who are currently excluded from participating in the digital asset space.

“On the institutional front, investors are excluded due to investment restrictions and regulatory uncertainty,” the CEO told Cointelegraph in an interview.

“For retail investors who are less tech-savvy, the main hurdles of investing directly into crypto include creating a wallet and trading on exchanges and platforms they are not familiar with. Accessing crypto by investing in an ETF would solve these problems,” Rashwan said.

He pointed out that the new asset class is associated with certain risks, but “This is exactly the same for other products.”

One of the key differences between holding cryptocurrencies versus crypto ETFs is that investors can buy and sell the ETF via a normal bank or broker into existing investment or trading portfolios, according to 21Shares CEO. “You don’t need to create new accounts or wallets to hold the tokens,” Rashwan