Congressmen Call on SEC to Approve Direct Bitcoin ETF – Bits Media

US Congressmen Tom Emmer and Darren Soto called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the launch of direct cryptocurrency ETFs, considering this logical after the approval of the Bitcoin futures ETF.

Tom Emmer (Tom Emmer) and Darren Soto (Darren Soto) made
letter to the chairman SEC to Gary Gensler (Gary Gensler) demanding permission to launch ETFs, tied to bitcoin. Congressmen asked the department a question, Why did it open the door to Bitcoin "futures" ETFs last month instead?, to immediately approve spot ETFs.

19 October, ProShares opened access to trading ETF shares for Bitcoin futures, and on the first day its trading volume exceeded $1 billion. Через несколько дней в США был запущен второй ETF на фьючерсы биткоина компанией Valkyrie, however, this exchange-traded fund has not attracted as much attention from investors compared to the new investment product, presented by ProShares.

Emmer and Soto admitted, that the launch of these exchange-traded funds will be a significant step forward for millions of American investors, wanting to gain access to Bitcoin. However, congressmen believe, that Bitcoin futures ETFs have much higher volatility, than direct Bitcoin ETFs. Besides, investors may pay higher fees due to the premium, with which Bitcoin futures are usually traded, and also due to price changes when changing futures contracts.

“The SEC sees nothing wrong with launching a Bitcoin futures ETF., but at the same time it cannot approve exchange-traded funds, directly linked to Bitcoin. But they are based on the asset, which will provide a higher level of investor protection", - stated in the appeal of congressmen to the SEC.

Cryptocurrency ETFs are in great demand among investors, therefore they must have a choice among several investment products and decide, which one is better for them personally?, congressmen think. Even with SEC concerns about digital asset fraud and manipulation in the cryptocurrency market, Congressmen do not understand the actions of the SEC. According to Emmer and Soto, The department strongly distinguishes between Bitcoin futures ETFs and Bitcoin ETFs, although they are interrelated and pose the same risks of market manipulation.

Recall, that these lawmakers contacted the IRS last year (IRS) with a request not to tax staking rewards and proposed to work out its taxation in this way, so that it does not interfere with the development of the Proof-of-Stake model (PoS).