Former Goldman Sachs manager and CEO of Galaxy Digital – Mike Novogratz – is optimistic that a U.S.-listed Bitcoin ETF will come by the end of this year. Speaking to Yahoo Finance, Novogratz said that the arrival of Bitcoin ETF will depend on the confluence of a number of factors.
This includes administration, securities watchdog, and further institutional adoption. “My guess is we get an ETF this year,” said Novogratz. Getting the license to launch a Bitcoin Exchange-Traded-Fund (ETF) has been a complicated process as the SEC has rejected several proposals in the past.
However, the number of institutions participating in Bitcoin over the last year has been unprecedented! Also, corporate players like Tesla have now joined the Bitcoin bandwagon and more players are likely to follow suit. Novogratz is very much bullish on digital asset managers which have grown its total assets under management by 10 times over the last year.
As of date, the Grayscale Trust has more than $30 billion in net assets under management comprising of all its crypto products. The thing with Grayscale is that only accredited investors buy its securities to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies. Thus, all these are traded over-the-counter (OTC) in the U.S. market.
Novogratz Is Optimistic About the New SEC Chief
Previous SEC Chief Jay Clayton, who’s the man behind rejecting multiple Bitcoin ETF proposals, left office in December 2020. Gary Gensler, the current nominee to head the SEC, is likely to have a friendlier approach over his predecessor. Having worked with Gensler in the past, Novogratz refers to him as someone who is tough but fair. Novogratz said:
“I am thrilled that Gary is the head of the SEC. Full disclosure — we worked together at Goldman Sachs back in 1997, ‘98 … he’s got more hair than I do. Not much, not much.
Gary taught a class on blockchain at M.I.T. and on crypto. He understands it cold. He’s progressive, right? And progressives broadly are going to go after … the rent takers. Crypto is not a rent taker… Crypto is trying to disrupt the rent takers.”
A number of crypto funds have been rolled out recently in the market. With institutional players joining the crypto market, we are likely to see more regulatory clarity ahead this year.
