U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Jay Clayton said that bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) have room for improvement before getting the green light from the regulatory body.
Bitcoin ETFs Making Progress
Speaking in an interview with CNBC on Sept. 9, the SEC Chairman claimed that progress was being made in the push for a bitcoin or crypto-based ETF, but that there was “work left to be done.”
Clayton told CNBC,
An even harder question given that they trade on largely unregulated exchanges is how can we be sure that those prices aren’t subject to significant manipulation?
He continued,
People needed to answer these hard questions for us to be comfortable that this was the appropriate kind of product.
Clayton has previously voiced concern over price manipulation impacting the security of a regulated crypto ETF. Last November he called market manipulation a major holdup in bitcoin ETFs gaining approval and claimed that “it needs to be addressed” before the regulatory body can proceed any further.
Clayton said at the time,
The prices retail investors are seeing are the prices they should rely on, and free from manipulation – not free from volatility, but free from manipulation.
In addition, the SEC Chairman highlighted the complexity involved in handling custody for crypto-assets as a particular challenge for bitcoin ETFs.
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