How, when and where will regulators approve Bitcoin ETF?

Will Bitcoin ETFs ever be approved by regulators in the US or other countries? As members of the community note, this is a much more complicated problem than it seems at first glance. It is much better to ask - is it necessary to prove the reliability of ETF to the regulatory bodies? In the end, their decision depends not only on their own desires, but also on the opinions of other organizations, for example, banks, many of which still do not recognize digital currencies.
This view was put forward by Ryan Radloff (Ryan Radloff), head of investment communications at XBT Provider, a Swedish issuer, who already managed to place bitcoin on the list of exchange-traded index bonds on the ordinary stock exchange.
"This problem as a question - what was before - an egg or a chicken?" - says Radlof, speaking of regulatory bodies and banks.
"Few banks will take any action until the controlling bodies approve the situation."
Different approaches

At the current moment, even in the US, different regulatory authorities perceive such crypto-currencies as bitcoin in different ways. For the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), bitcoin is a property type, for the Financial Crimes Network (FinCEN) is a virtual currency, and for other bodies, a "mechanism for transferring money."
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not yet taken a definite position in relation to the classification of bitcoins, but rejected two applications for the launch of ETF (Bitcoin ETF Winkwosov and Bitcoin ETF from SolidX).
So far, the current situation does not seem promising, notes Chris Burniske, specializing in bitcoin analyst at ARK Investment Management, an investment company offering ETF, focused on new technologies.
"SEC adheres to a rather tough position," Burnisque said, referring to the recent refusal to launch the ETF. "Obviously, it will take a lot of effort to get the approval of the Commission."
Radlof agrees: "While the future of bitcoin products in the US does not look very rosy, however, everything can change."
Exchange investment funds are not the only option for investment. Futures contracts, which are controlled by another regulator, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), can outstrip the ETF, Burnisque said. The CFTC is already considering bitcoin as a commodity.
And what about other countries?

Control over bitcoins is carried out differently in different countries, but as a whole moves in a positive direction.
"The more openly the country's regulatory authorities think, the more likely is the spread of innovation in the field of finance," Radlof said. "These regions include the island of Jersey, Switzerland, Malta, Gibraltar, Japan and Sweden. In the past 18 months, even more countries and regions have clarified their attitude towards bitcoin, "he continued, adding:
"We can expect that the number of favorable places for the development of the crypto currency will increase."
It should be noted that in Europe there are already bitmoic products, but this is not ETF, but exchange-traded index bonds (ETNs), which are similar to ETF, but assume quite different risks. European investors and regulators are already accustomed to ETN, Radlof said.
ETN COINXBE & COINXBT is already on the Nasdaq Nordic exchange. Another bitcoin ETN product has recently been listed on the Gibraltar Stock Exchange. Nick Cowan, managing director of this exchange, notes that soon two more similar tools may appear on the site and another one, including several crypto-currencies.
"We have an excellent regulatory body that took responsibility for the whole process with the help of external consultants," Cowan said.
Self-regulating market

What about critical statements about the immaturity of the market? A recent study by the University of Cambridge - Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study showed that only 46% of the crypto-exchange exchanges that participated in the study have a state license. In addition, much depends on the region where the exchange operates. 85% of the sites located in the Asia-Pacific region were not licensed, while 78% of American exchanges had it. This difference is due in particular to the fact that China has no clear rules governing the operation of the industry.
In addition, almost all of the participating exchanges had their own client programs that met KYC / AML requirements, even if the exchange did not have an official license.
Dr.Garrick Hileman, a senior researcher at the CCAF and a researcher at the Center for Macroeconomics, noted that members of the Bitcoin community contributed significantly to the development of the crypto currency in the last year.
"Self-regulation and customer service programs initiated by community members have significantly helped the industry develop," says Heilman and adds: "Watching your customers helps the market grows more and more mature."