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Finance

More Bitcoin ETF Rejections 'Quite Likely,' BitGo's Belshe Says

Belshe says the SEC could reject ETF applications until exchanges and custody separate out.

By Oliver Knight
AccessTimeIconNov 17, 2023 at 2:53 p.m. UTC
CEO of BitGo Mike Belshe in a chair on-stage at Consensus 2023

Mike Belshe at Consensus 2023. (Shutterstock/CoinDesk)

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BitGo CEO Mike Belshe said it's "quite likely" the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will reject a series of spot bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications despite industry-wide optimism.

Speaking in a Bloomberg interview, Belshe said the SEC might reject current applications on the basis that exchanges and custody are not separated. Coinbase (COIN) has been selected by several applicants as a custody partner for a potential ETF.

"There are a lot of risks in that entity Coinbase that are not understood," Belshe said. "I think that the SEC could quite likely come back and say: 'Nope, you've got to separate out those things fully before we move forward.'"

Several ETF analysts have said that the chances of an ETF being approved in January are around 90%. The SEC has rejected numerous applications over the years, citing concerns over potential market manipulation and a lack of customer protection.

Fund manager BlackRock filed an application for a spot bitcoin ETF in June. Since then, the price of BTC has rallied by 45% to $36,200, according to TradingView data.

Edited by Sheldon Reback.

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Oliver Knight
Oliver Knight

Oliver Knight is a CoinDesk reporter based between London and Lisbon. He does not own any crypto.

Follow @OKnightCrypto on Twitter

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