Jay Clayton, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) considers Bitcoin (BTC) needs better regulations. During the Delivering Alpha conference, Mr. Clayton said that to get listed on the Nasdaq or the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Bitcoin needs to have clear regulations.
Bitcoin Needs To Be Regulated
Bitcoin supporters and enthusiasts have been waiting for Bitcoin to reach larger investors through different investment tools. Bitcoin futures contracts and a Bitcoin ETF could be some of the ways larger investors have to gain exposure to the cryptocurrency market.
However, regulatory agencies in many countries, including in the United States do not have a clear position on how to regulate Bitcoin. This is something that is creating problems for the virtual currency.
According to Mr. Clayton, for Bitcoin to reach larger investors, including the Nasdaq or the NYSE, the most popular digital asset would have to be better regulated.
On the matter, he commented:
“If investors think there’s the same rigour around that price discovery as there is on the Nasdaq or New York Stock Exchange … they are sorely mistaken. […] We have to get to a place where we can be confident that trading is better regulated.”
Bitcoin is a very volatile asset that can experience intra-day price swings of around 20%, or even more. Other digital assets could move even faster due to their lower liquidity. At the same time, there have been several concerns related to Bitcoin’s price manipulation.
Although these issues have been present on Bitcoin for a long period of time, there are already some solutions that help investors have access to Bitcoin. One of them is Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Trust, which is currently listed on the Nasdaq exchange using the GBTC symbol.
A few days ago, VanEck and SolidX decided to withdraw their Bitcoin ETF proposal with the SEC. This is the second time the companies decide not to wait for a final answer from the U.S. regulator.
There are still other companies that are trying to offer services to larger investors. Bakkt, a firm created by the Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the parent company of the NYSE, is working so as to offer physically-backed Bitcoin futures contracts to users.
In this way, individuals would not only have exposure to the crypto space but they would also be able to handle the virtual currency in a regulated and secure environment for institutions and larger investors.
