CBOE Wants to Be The First To Get The Approval of Bitcoin ETF, But Don’t Expect Before 2019

Over the last two months, there has been a lot of buzz going around the arrival of Bitcoin ETF, especially after the Chicago Board Operations Exchange (CBOE) filed with the SEC through VanEck SolidX Bitcoin Trust.

However, the latest decision to postpone the ruling of CBOE Bitcoin ETF, from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has curbed the excitement among investors, while many analysts have been already predicting that arrival of Bitcoin ETF could not take anytime sooner than 2019.

According to the latest report from Bloomberg, CBOE prefers to stay optimistic about its latest filing and wants to be the first to get the ETF approved. CBOE President and Chief Operating Officer, Chris Concannon said: “As we chip away at their issues to make them less concerned, at some point they’ll be comfortable with an ETF.”

“There’s a huge first-mover advantage in the ETF world,” Concannon said. Once the assets “come pouring in, it tends to continue. We’ve seen that in other ETFs.”

The SEC has previously rejected other major Bitcoin ETF proposals even from giants like the Gemini exchange and SolidXPartners Inc. The SEC has cited the reason that the past ETFs have not done enough to control the market manipulation, thereby protecting investor’s interest in this highly volatile and unregulated digital currency market.

CBOE has been having enough experience of launching Bitcoin-related investment products in the market. CBOE and CME Group were the first ones to introduce cash-settled Bitcoin futures contracts which allowed investors to invest in Bitcoin without actually physically owning them.

The CBOE Bitcoin Futures contract were introduced in December 2017 and have been operating under regulated markets. This could make a good base for the arrival of Bitcoin ETF ahead. Concannon also said that getting the Bitcoin investment product to the market will bring more maturity in the crypto sphere.

“Having the underlying futures come to market first, prior to an ETF, I think you have a healthier, more mature market,” Concannon said. “The problem with a futures-based ETF is, what is the right level of liquidity? It’s never been tested before.”

However, the trading volumes have been a major concern to give further boost to these investment products. The Bitcoin Futures contracts have been facing low trading volumes in comparison to other commodities like oil and gold. The low trading volumes has made the SEC hesitant to bring more products to the market.