The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday delayed its decision on approval of the VanEck Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund until June. The SEC typically takes 45 days from when an application is filed to issue a decision on whether a security should be allowed to trade, but the SEC chose to extend the deadline from May 3 to June.
Matthew DeLesDernier, assistant secretary at the SEC, wrote: "The Commission finds that it is appropriate to designate a longer period within which to take action on the proposed rule change so that it has sufficient time to consider the proposed rule change and the comments received." Some crypto analysts believe the SEC will soon approve the first US Bitcoin ETF thanks to new Chairman Gary Gensler's expertise and experience teaching courses on blockchain and digital currencies at MIT.
The SEC is currently reviewing multiple ETF applications from various asset managers.
Here is the rest of the week in review:
Charlie Munger harshly criticized Bitcoin at the Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.B) annual shareholders' meeting Saturday. The vice chairman of the conglomerate did not hide his disdain of crypto, marking a turn into hatred. Referring to Bitcoin's 2021 price appreciation, Munger exclaimed: "Of course I hate the Bitcoin success. And I don't welcome a currency that's so useful to kidnappers and extortionists and so forth, nor do I like shuffling out a few extra billions and billions of dollars to somebody who just invented a new financial product out of thin air." He further slammed: "I think I should say modestly that I think the whole damn development is disgusting and contrary to the interests of civilization." But Berkshire Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett, took a hard pass on comments: "I'm gonna dodge that question," though he previously labeled Bitcoin as "rat poison squared" and as a gambling instrument. Munger's vitriol is in contrast with the rest of Wall Street, which is growing warmer to the crypto sector.
Fidelity Investments, one of the world's largest asset management giants, announced Thursday that it launched Sherlock, a new digital asset data and analytics platform for institutional investors. According to the press release, institutions from crypto investors to traditional asset managers will be able to use a variety of data and analytics including news, research, and social media. Kevin Vora, vice president of product management at Fidelity Center for Applied Technology, said: "While the market is maturing rapidly, we've heard from institutional investors that there's a need for a comprehensive and accessible data solution." The asset manager previously launched its crypto asset division Fidelity Digital Assets in 2018, offering enterprise-quality custody and trade execution services to institutional investors. An affiliate of Fidelity also applied for a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the US in March.
Crypto prices soared this week to $2.264 trillion, buoyed by the surge of Ether (ETH) to a new record high above $3,000. For the majors, all except Tether (USDT) ended the week in the green with double-digit gains. In the top 100, the biggest losers were Horizen (ZEN), down 1.7%, CELO, down 0.9%, and Revain (REV), down 0.1%. The biggest gainers were BakeryToken (BAKE), up a whopping 472%, OKB, up 143%, and Fantom (FTM), up 129%. Next week traders will watch if the bull market continues.
The author owns a small amount of BTC.