Bitcoin ETF Incoming? Senate Confirms Gary Gensler as New SEC Chair

The U.S. Senate has nominated Gary Gensler to serve as the 33rd chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) after a 53-45 vote. 

The SEC’s existing commissioners released a congratulatory statement after the Senate confirmation of Gary Gensler saying, “A warm congratulations to Gary Gensler on his Senate confirmation to become Chair of the SEC. He will be joining a dedicated staff that works tirelessly day in and day out on behalf of investors and our markets. We welcome him back to public service and look forward to working together to execute our vital mission.”

With BTTC, the world’s first-ever Bitcoin ETF, accumulating more than $1 billion in assets under management (AUM) barely two months after its launch, investors are wondering when the US will approve a Bitcoin ETF. 

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF was launched earlier in February after the Canadian government permitted Purpose Investment to launch a bitcoin exchange-traded fund, becoming the first major economy to approve a Bitcoin ETF.

However, financial regulators in the United States are yet to approve a Bitcoin ETF and are reluctant to do so, stating concerns over fraud, custody, and excessive volatility.

As a result, Gary Gensler’s recent nomination has raised speculation about what his terms of service would mean for the crypto industry and whether a Bitcoin ETF would be granted following different proposals from several firms like VanEck, Fidelity, WisdomTree Investments, and even Galaxy Digital.

While the new SEC chairman has not made any statements concerning cryptocurrencies, his past statements and actions most likely point to the fact that his term would be favorable to the crypto industry and the approval of one or more Bitcoin ETFs.

Gary Gensler, who previously worked as an investment banker and a government official, is a professor at MIT Sloan School of Management who taught digital currencies and a blockchain course that included a reading of the Bitcoin Whitepaper.

In addition, at a confirmation hearing held by the Senate Banking Committee last month, the new SEC chairman said “Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have brought new thinking to payments and financial inclusion, but they’ve also raised new issues of investor protection that we still need to attend to.”

He continued, “If confirmed at the SEC, I’d work with fellow commissioners to both promote the new innovation, but also at the core to ensure investor protection.”

Only time will tell if the terms of service of the new SEC chair will give rise to the approval of Bitcoin ETFs or would be similar to that of his predecessor Jay Clayton, who during his term rejected ETF applications from companies like Bitwise, CBOE, and NYSE for regulatory related reasons.