Markets
ETFs Linked to Ethereum Spot Price Are a Milestone for the Cryptocurrency, Issuer Says – BNN Bloomberg
Katherine Dowling, CCO and General Counsel at Bitwise, joins BNN Bloomberg to discuss how the US election is impacting crypto momentum.
Exchange-traded funds designed to track the spot price of Ethereum are now trading on U.S. stock exchanges, in the latest milestone for cryptocurrency investors.
“There was a period where all issuers thought this wasn’t going to happen and that it was potentially going to be a long wait,” Katherine Dowling, chief compliance officer and general counsel at Bitwise Asset Management, said in an interview with BNN Bloomberg on Tuesday.
Bitwise is one of eight asset managers that saw their Ethereum ETFs given the green light by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to begin trading Monday night, and they began trading Tuesday.
In just one day of trading, Bloomberg reports that the ETFs launched Tuesday have already accumulated more than $10 billion in assets.
“[They] “They’re there and they’re doing well, they’re thriving in the marketplace,” Dowling said.
A political balancing act
This is a major breakthrough for crypto investors, but it almost didn’t happen because of uncertainty over whether regulators would recognize Ethereum as a security. “The idea was that we were going to have to wait for it to happen in other areas, like the courts,” Dowling said. “Then the political winds took a little bit of wind out of the sails. Suddenly, 19b-4s were approved for a number of issuers at the same time.”
Some of those political winds were blowing in the direction of Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, who has referred to himself as the “crypto president” at fundraisers over the past two months.
Dowling said Bitwise does not expect the election outcome to have a big impact on the cryptocurrency’s reach this year.
“It’s great that candidate Trump has embraced crypto, as has his running mate, [but] “We’re about to see what Kamala Harris might bring to this. Will she also jump in and embrace cryptocurrency? I know there are a number of lobbyists looking at that opportunity and looking to get her to make a statement, so that’s going to be really interesting to see.”
Dowling said she believes there will be little difference in cryptocurrency markets whether a Republican or Democratic administration is at the helm.
“I think there are enough Democrats to make sure that the new administration, if it’s a Democrat, embraces crypto and moves it forward. I think the momentum is there on both sides.”
Regulation is essential
Looking ahead, Dowling says it is important for the industry to maintain dialogue with regulators to ensure appropriate regulations are in place.
“The SEC needs to do its job in terms of analysis and testing to make sure there’s no fraud in the market; and we want them to do that job,” she said. “Bitwise has always had an active dialogue with the SEC, we think that’s of the utmost importance.”