At the beginning of the year the government was on shutdown and Bitwise kicked off the year by applying to act as a sponsor for a physical settled Bitcoin ETF that would be listed on NYSE Arca. They indicated that 58% of investors would invest into a Bitcoin ETF and said the SEC is not against a Bitcoin ETF. NYSE Arca filed a rule change proposal on form 19b-4 which determines how it’s listed.
“We know, we had conversations with 2,000 institutional
and financial advisers last year. There is dramatic interest in Crypto.
They want good ways to get exposure.” -Matt Hougan
Bitwise believe that Bitcoin was a “Total Bubble” & 95% of Crypto “will die a painful death.” By February, Ric Edelman cut ties with Bitwise to avoid a potential conflict of interest with his clients that could arise in the future; he’d be advocating for them to enter through Bitwise most likely.
Bitwise said it makes “perfect sense” that the SEC would take time to approve a Bitcoin ETF; took gold a while as well. By late February, Bitwise CEO highlighted key Crypto advancements ahead of the SEC’s Bitcoin ETF review date in March. Matt Hougan appeared on the What Bitcoin Did podcast to reiterate that 95% of reported Bitcoin volume is fake. As a result of their research the prospects of approval was lowered.
As projected the SEC did in fact postpone the decision on the Bitwise, VanEck Bitcoin ETF proposals. However, by May (just 2 months later), Bitwise said the market was orderly and urged the SEC to approve the ETF.
By Aug, Facebook’s announcement of Libra was in full effect. Bitwise claimed that Facebook’s Libra propelled Bitcoin 3 years ahead. Matt Hougan said that Bitcoin was following Gold’s volatile path to global dominance. In September, Bitwise amended their filing and indicated that they had tapped BNY Mellon as transfer agent for the proposed Bitcoin ETF; an experienced and trusted ETF service provider.
Toward the end of September Bitwise released a massive Bitcoin report and said again that the market is ready for an ETF. One month later, Bitwise indicated that a Bitcoin ETF could arrive sooner. Matt Hougan said, “We’re closer than we’ve ever been before to getting a bitcoin ETF approved.” However, the SEC once again denied the ETF. Bitwise vowed to refile “as soon as appropriate.” Hunter Horsley and Matt Hougan appeared on the Unchained Podcast hosted by Laura Shin to talk about the latest plans to get a Bitcoin ETF approved. Then, out of nowhere, today, 19 Nov 2019, the US SEC takes another look at rejected Bitwise Bitcoin ETF proposal. Something smells fishy. That said, Tom Lee of Fundstrat doesn’t see it happening until Bitcoin reaches $150,00. I am sure Jake Chervinsky of Compound would agree? Stay tuned...
This was made possible by the Crypto Watch brief's I send daily. My archive made it easy to take a look back quickly and compile this post. Become a Patreon Supporter to gain access to my archive of information.
