Tech entrepreneur-turned-Bitcoin advocate Andreas Antonopoulos has issued a warning about a potential exchange-traded fund (ETF) and how it could impact the industry.
I’m Going to Burst Your Bubble
Andreas Antonopoulos, a best-selling author, speaker, and educator, posted a video to his YouTube channel last week.
Titled “Bitcoin Q&A: Why I’m Against ETFs,” the nearly nine-minute video sees Antonopoulos looking at why a Bitcoin ETF may be a bad idea. Notably, while he does believe that an ETF will be approved, he added:
I’m going to burst your bubble. I know a lot of people really want to see an ETF happen because ‘to the moon, and lambos,’ but I think it is a terrible idea. I still think it is going to happen, I just think it is a terrible idea. I’m actually against ETFs. I think a Bitcoin ETF is going to be damaging to the ecosystem.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is currently considering a Bitcoin ETF proposal. An application to launch one has been filed through the Chicago Board of Exchange (CBOE) by New York-based VanEck and blockchain platform SolidX.
The SEC has delayed a decision on this until September. However, while the community expects a positive result at some stage, it remains to be seen if it will be this one. If an ETF is approved, though, it would enable a new wave of money to pour into the cryptocurrency market.
This is something the industry appears to be relying upon. Last month saw Bitcoin’s price rise to over $8,400 after it was reported that the SEC was considering approving an ETF. Since then, its value has fallen. At the time of writing, it is trading at under $6,450, according to CoinMarketCap.
Yesterday, it was reported that the SEC has denied nine ETFs in total. This follows on the heels of the Winklevoss-backed Bitcoin Shares ETF, which was denied last month.
ETFs Change the Fundamentals of Crypto
Yet, while many are of the opinion that an ETF is the way forward, Antonopoulos doesn’t share the same feelings. He says:
ETFs fundamentally violate the underlying principle of peer-to-peer money, where each user is not operating through a custodian, but has direct control of their money because they have direct control of their keys.
He added that an “ETF is a multi-billionaire dollar, not your keys, not your bitcoin vehicle.” Plenty of subscribers on his channel were in favor of his views.
One said:
Satoshi gave us the gun, but we seem to point it to our own heads…
Another added:
It looks like we are going in the exact opposite direction that Satoshi intended us to go… begging for institutional acceptance, and giving power to the same old few instead to [giving] power back to the people.
Do you think Antonopoulos is right? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Shutterstock and YouTube/@aantonop.