Bitcoin ETFs May Have Lost the Battle, But Not the War

A Bitcoin ETF, in turn, tracks Bitcoin as the underlying asset.

One of the key aspects of a Bitcoin ETF is that, if listed on a regulated U.S. exchange, it could pave the way for large mainstream investors, potentially pushing Bitcoin toward mass adoption and broader recognition on Wall Street.

The Winklevoss twins' self-titled fund, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust, was submitted to the SEC to be listed on Bats BZX Exchange as COIN, an ETF "That can track the price of Bitcoin because its only asset will be Bitcoin," as per its website.

In it, she opined that the agency's move "Sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets, a signal that may have effects far beyond the fate of Bitcoin ETPs." Thus, the main dilemma regarding Bitcoin ETFs revolves around the SEC's role in the market.

More ETFs are to be reviewed by the SEC The Winklevoss brothers are not the only ones trying to pioneer crypto-based ETFs in the U.S. In January 2018, there were at least 14 "Different Bitcoin ETFs or related products" pending with the SEC, according to Reuters data.

While the Winklevoss Fund hoped to entail direct investments in Bitcoin, a number of other funds focused on Bitcoin futures contracts.

The closest ETF to the SEC's overview is the Bitcoin ETF powered by investment firm VanEck and financial service company SolidX, which applied to the SEC in June, as per its press release.

Bitcoin on Nordic Nasdaq: Swedish experience While the SEC and funds are brawling over ETFs in the U.S., the Swedish company XBT Providers has been successfully running a Bitcoin exchange-traded product dubbed CoinShares.

The CoinShares series is comprised of the XBT Bitcoin Tracker One and the XBT Bitcoin Tracker Euro, which trade in Swedish krona and euro respectively.

Room for optimism The fact that the market was quick to recover after the Winklevoss' second failure to convince the SEC suggests that investors remain hopeful for Bitcoin ETFs to conquer U.S. regulated exchanges.