Five Reasons the Winklevoss Bitcoin ETF Should Be Approved

The Securities and Exchange Commission is torn over the bitcoin exchange-traded fund. Maybe it shouldn’t be.
The agency has been sitting on, or perhaps agonizing over, a filing for the first ETF tracking a digital asset. Since the infamous Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust was filed in July 2013, bitcoin has returned an eye-popping 610 percent, while new filings for additional ETFs tracking bitcoin and ether have rolled in. Now, the SEC has announced it is seeking additionalpublic comment.
The reasons not to approve the ETF are obvious — namely, the questionable security and stability of bitcoin and its platforms, as well as possible new regulations. These legitimate concerns explain why this filing has been in limbo for so long and why it remains such an object of fascination. That said, here are five non-obvious reasons why the SEC should consider approving it, from a fund analyst’s perspective.

This post was published at Bloomberg on NOV 1, 2016.