фото показано с : invezz.com

US Senators have requested the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler to stop further approvals of crypto ETFs. In a letter dated March 11, the senators warned of significant risks to retail investors associated with crypto ETFs. The letter reads in part:

We write to urge the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to take steps to protect investors following its recent approval of the listing and trading of certain spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products (ETPs).

The success of the BTC spot products clearly ruffling some feathers on the Hill. @SenatorJackReed and @Senlaphonza write to the @SECGov urging:
-no further ETPs for other tokens
-make life difficult (i.e. examinations/reviews) for brokers and advisers that recommend BTC ETPs pic.twitter.com/enxdumC02N

Democrat senators Jack Reed and Laphonza Butler say that further approvals of crypto ETFs would expose investors to “thinly traded” markets prone to manipulation and fraud. The senators told the SEC not to encourage the approvals of spot Bitcoin ETFs to become a precedent for approving other ETFs.

Regarding the spot Bitcoin ETFs, the senators urged the regulator to ensure that market players, including brokers and advisors, are subjected to further regulatory scrutiny. The legislators stated that although Bitcoin is more established and well-scrutinised, it has displayed a “serious weakness.” They warned that other cryptocurrencies are “far more exposed to misconduct.”

Reed and Butler are two senators actively involved in legislation targeting cryptocurrencies in the US. In July 2023, Reed came up with a bipartisan bill seeking to strengthen Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regulations and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements. On the other hand, Butler was a co-sponsor of Senator Elizabeth Warrant’s Digital Asset Anti-Money Laundering Act bill in December.

The senators’ comments come when the market eagerly awaits the approval of spot Ether ETFs. After several delays, investors have been waiting for May 23 as the possible date for the approvals. However, analysts are growing less optimistic.

Senior Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas warns that the huge success of Bitcoin ETFs is “upsetting to high ranking Dems,” lowering the Ether ETF approval chances.

Recently, Balchunas lowered the approval chances of Ether ETFs to 35%, citing “SEC’s radio silence” to the issuers. This is lower than the 70% the analyst gave in January.

The post US senators want the SEC to halt further crypto ETF approvals appeared first on Invezz

136 +