SEC Chairman spoke about the reasons for delaying the approval of Bitcoin ETFs

The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Jay Clayton, spoke about what needs to be done in the cryptocurrency industry before approving applications for a Bitcoin ETF.

According to Clayton, the industry is in dire need of high-end custodial solutions that would be approved by US regulators. In addition, you must ensure that there is no market manipulation.

"We're engaging on this [a crypto ETF], but there are a couple of things about it that we need to feel comfortable with. The first is custody: custody is a long-standing requirement in our markets, and if you say you have something you really have it. We have sophisticated rules and surveillance to ensure that people are not manipulating the stock market, those cryptocurrency markets by large do not have that; And we're working hard to see if we can get there, but I'm not just going to flip a switch and say this is just like stocks and bonds, because it's not," 

the SEC chairman said in an interview with CNBC.

Note that although the custodial services of the Coinbase and Gemini exchanges are entering the market, the Fidelity and Bakkt platforms are different. It is possible to control the absence of market manipulation only on regulated exchanges, and it cannot be done at large international markets with weak regulation. Therefore, it is very likely that exchange-traded funds (ETF) on Bitcoin will not appear as soon as many would like.

Late last year, Clayton emphasized that some cryptocurrencies, in particular Bitcoin, are not securities, but many ICO tokens fall into this category. Companies that want to initiate such projects must adhere to the relevant regulatory requirements of the regulator. 

SOURCE