The CEO of US-based crypto exchange Kraken says the introduction of spot Bitcoin () exchange-traded funds (ETFs) will have a bullish impact on the crypto industry.
Last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) greenlighted BlackRock, Fidelity, Grayscale, VanEck, Bitwise, Franklin, Valkyrie, Hashdex, Ark Invest, WisdomTree and Invesco Galaxy to offer spot Bitcoin ETFs.
In a new interview on Bloomberg Crypto, David Ripley says the launch of the investment product helps with Kraken’s mission to grow cryptocurrency adoption.
“It’s yet another access point. It’s an easier path for some to get into cryptocurrency, to get their first exposure to Bitcoin.”
He says the development will also have a positive effect on the whole crypto industry as digital asset exchanges offer services that consumers do not get from ETFs such as directly holding Bitcoin in custody.
“That’s going to grow the overall ecosystem. Exposure and awareness is going to grow and these things grow the overall industry in total. It’s possible that some newer individuals to crypto may first go and buy an ETF as opposed to going to Kraken or Coinbase, some of our peers, but that’s entirely fine.”
Ripley also explains why Kraken has no plan to cut fees to compete with the Bitcoin ETFs.
“We view the offerings, the products different enough such that they’re really not direct substitutes, if you will. There’s a different price point for that product, but it’s a different product. and so we don’t have any plans to adjust fees or anything of the like due to this introduction. Like I said, we offer different products and services that differ in a lot of ways from the ETF.”
