It looks like we are going to see approval for a Bitcoin ETF in the short to medium term. Does this finally cement Bitcoin as an investment product rather than a currency? It is going to be interesting how this plays out both in terms of the price impact and the impact to broader crypto markets and crypto exchanges.
ETF approval over-hyped although it looks like it's inevitable. I'd say come back in eighteen months and review then. In reality, it will be a slow burner. I'm looking forward to it broadening the market cap - which eventually will lead to less unit price volatility.
I don't think that it has to be black/white. It can play a role in those few use cases. Over the longer run, broader market cap and less volatility assist with day to day transactional use. Ongoing acceptance in the conventional finance world (that this approval will contribute towards) will assist in this respect also.
Overall I think it is bad for exchanges that operate in the US and derive revenue from trading fees from trading.
Perhaps it will be. ETF approval aside, so long as Elizabeth Warren is directing policy behind the scenes relative to digital assets and financial markets, the exchange business is already dead in the water in the US (although it won't always be like that). However, the US is not the only game in town. This is a world-wide asset. Asia likely to take on greater relevance in the next wave of adoption.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Approval from whom?
I don't think so. Just because you can invest in something doesn't mean that you should or that it's a good idea. Just because something is the basis for an ETF doesn't give it some sort of legitimacy. There are ETFs for all sorts of crazy stuff.
Personally, I'm not looking for any validation of bitcoin from conventional finance. However, I disagree that this milestone (if/when it comes) doesn't add perceived 'legitimacy' for those that operate in conventional finance relative to bitcoin. Nothing exists in a vacuum. As we go forward, there will be a continued blurring of the lines between bitcoin, "crypto" and conventional finance.
And, arguably, bitcoin isn't even really a currency except in very limited circumstances. .
Currently limited by the number of folks with digital wallets but that will continue to change over time.
And let's not talk about the several high profile crypto related scandals in recent years, or a particular ongoing trial...
You mean the high profile scandals related to
centralized entities with little to do with bitcoin itself? In the case of FTX, we're talking about a garden variety fraud like Enron, Madoff...although maybe the latter didn't have 33% of Capitol Hill politicians taking money from that fraudster, and continue to refuse to give that $ back. FTX was spending more time with regulators (the SEC and CFTC) than any other entity in the space. In the case of the latter, they are reported to have spent 1,000s of hours working with them.
These failures are failures of the conventional system. Said failures don't blemish bitcoin itself.