Many within the Bitcoin community are pretty upset about the Winklevoss ETF being turned away by the SEC. If you are among them, buck up, little camper! I’m going to reveal several reasons why Bitcoin is better off without the passage of the COIN ETF.
[This is an op-ed article. Viewer discretion is advised.]
Bitcoin Must Be Regulated…to Be Regulated
First things first, let’s review yesterday’s ruling by the Securities Exchange Commission. Here is the text from their 38-page statement:
As discussed further below, the Commission is disapproving this proposed rule change because it does not find the proposal to be consistent with Section 6(b)(5) of the Exchange Act, which requires, among other things, that the rules of a national securities exchange be designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices and to protect investors and the public interest.
The Commission believes that, in order to meet this standard, an exchange that lists and trades shares of commodity-trust exchange-traded products (“ETPs”) must, in addition to other applicable requirements, satisfy two requirements that are dispositive in this matter. First, the exchange must have surveillance sharing agreements with significant markets for trading the underlying commodity or derivatives on that commodity. And second, those markets must be regulated.
The way this is phrased, with their approval based “surveillance,” it doesn’t sound a Bitcoin ETF is going to be approved, by the Winklevoss Twins or anyone else, anytime soon. This leads to my first issue with the ETF and the first reason this defeat is a win for Bitcoin.
An ETF will require copious amounts of banking and/or government “surveillance,” according to the SEC statement. Is that what you, a lifer within the Bitcoin community, want?
Bitcoin transactions are already more transparent and open-source than any global economic system on the planet. They are so public that many developers are writing scripts and apps to make the system more private. Many mainstream investors and institutions avoid using Bitcoin because of its lack of privacy. Others use altcoins like Dash and Monero instead, but this tentacle of government wants, even more, oversight and “surveillance?”
Now, I’m sure the Winklevoss Twins are decent gentlemen, but who wants them having so much control over Bitcoin?
They own the Gemini exchange in New York and it is estimated that they have over 100,000 BTC themselves. Now they get full access to a Wall Street fund full of Bitcoins as well? Is that level of Bitcoin hoarding and centralization serving them or the greater Bitcoin good? Do you, or I, need the rich getting richer? I don’t.
OTHER ETF’s PROBABLY A NO-GO TOO
I spoke with Charles Hayter, CEO & Founder of Crypto Compare in the aftermath of this decision and shared his views on the situation. We agreed that Bitcoin was better off without the ETF, with him saying,
Whether other jurisdictions will allow a Bitcoin ETF remains to be seen – but for the time being all is not well – and it seems as if the other ETF’s in the pipeline for the SEC are facing the same stone wall.
Another reason is why throw out the baby with the bathwater? Why make Bitcoin change, for the worse, so that mainstream investors get a free ride into Bitcoin’s economic system?
Why can’t they earn it like I and many of you have? Why can’t they go to an exchange and buy BTC, and move it into a hardware wallet? Why does Bitcoin’s greatness have to be compromised for the bourgeoisie? Where I come from, those who are late do not fruit cup!
DID I LOSE ANY REAL VALUE?
Next, let’s look at Bitcoin price, one of the main reasons for the despair of so many, as their precious digital investment will not “go to the moon” as quickly now. Look at the price this morning. What did you really lose?
Many were rightfully predicting that the price would nosedive to around $1,000 USD, but it is trading at almost $1,200, not much different than it was just 24 hours ago, before “the decision.”
Here is the chart over the last 24 hours, provided by Bitcoin Average:
Do you know what I did? I bought in on Ethereum last month, before the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance caused a huge bump in value. I thought it might double the value, but it ended up adding 50% in a couple of weeks. Very happy with my gains, I cleaned out my ETH for BTC when it dipped to $1080. That’s what good investors do. They buy undervalued assets low and go long with them. I’ve already made 10% on my money because a good investor makes money when they buy, not when they sell. Go and do likewise, gents. The chart above says that many of you have, as well.
So the ETF fail just kicked out all the speculators, all the bandwagon babies, all the Johnny-come-lately’s, and what have you lost? Fifteen bucks? Big deal! In effect, the Bitcoin community has gone down to the river, beaten out digital currency with a rock, cleaned out all the dirt, and you have a legitimate Bitcoin market price, sans the inflation from day-trading pump-and-dumpers.
So what if it lost $230 in ten minutes? You know damn well you can’t kill Bitcoin, baby! It’s like “The Walking Dead!”
The free market in Bitcoin, which definitely does not exist in Gold, Silver, or FOREX, has shown you the actual market value of Bitcoin. That’s pretty damn sweet, and it’s a lot higher than much released. Bitcoin took the mainstream’s best shot and is still kicking like Bruce Lee, or Bruce Leroy (Barry Gordy’s “The Last Dragon”, circa 1985, highly recommended)!
WHO SAYS BITCOIN CAN HANDLE THE MIGRATION?
The rally in Bitcoin prices over the past several months has shown in a significant increase in the number of transactions. This increase is testing the limits of the network and resulting in much slower than normal transaction times.
For crying out loud, it takes 45 minutes for me to get an on-chain transaction done! Many people have complained to me on Twitter, and on Reddit, that their transactions aren’t going through in 3 hours, 6 hours, 12 hours? What would an ETF flood of mainstreamers do to those lead times? Is Bitcoin’s infrastructure ready for that influx? Not seeing that.
Like a Muslim migration flood into Sweden, I’ve seen this movie before, and it doesn’t end well. Bitcoin could become a “no-go zone” very quickly. Bitcoin is not ready for such mainstream movement into the system.
If Wall Street hit Bitcoin right now, man, you’d be sorry. I would personally recommend that Bitcoin is not ready for any such thing until this block size/SegWit/Lightning Network upgrade is full resolved and ceded in the protocol, and that’s not happening anytime soon.
YOUR INVESTMENT NOT REQUIRED FOR SUCCESS
Finally, Bitcoin has been the world’s best-performing currency over three of the last four years, without any ETF or even the incentive to gain one.
Last year, Bitcoin rose 126.2% in value without Wall Street’s help. I view the ETF as just some nitrous oxide being added to a McLaren P1. Bitcoin is going to be worth a minimum of $1,500 USD by year’s end, with or without an ETF, and 2k is still on the table.
In my opinion, Wall Street needs a Bitcoin ETF far more than Bitcoin needs Wall Street.
So, in closing, you’ve found a true market value, you’ve gotten rid of the financial jock sniffers, the government and banks left you because they can’t hardwire in more surveillance, and you only lost $15 in the cleansing?
Like The Rock in the 2004 flick, Bitcoin is walking tall this morning. The SEC has actually done Bitcoin a favor and cleaned up this town. Bitcoin has a lot more pressing issues to worry about. Let us begin addressing them and forget about shine from Wall Street. If that’s what you are after, you are surely missing the point of Bitcoin’s ethos.
It’s not about Wall Street. It’s about us. Grow Bitcoin by word-of-mouth, the world’s most effective marketing campaign. On the side of the Bitcoin box, it should clearly state “Wall Street not included.”
What do you think? Has the SEC done the Bitcoin community a favor or did it just take a major hit? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Bitcoinaverage