Financial advisors are still skeptical that the SEC will approve Bitcoin ETFs, Bitwise says

40% of financial advisors say they're confident a Bitcoin ETF will be available to US investors by 2024 – the rest aren't so sure, according to a Bitwise poll.

This is an interesting outcome, as most market observers believe that the SEC's blessing for Bitcoin ETFs may be a foregone conclusion. As crypto giant Grayscale wrote in early December, it's a matter of if, not when. However, most professionals involved in advising their clients on investments are not so confident, according to Bitwise.

The survey found that while most advisors do not expect a Bitcoin ETF to be approved this year, 88% of respondents interested in buying Bitcoin on behalf of their clients are waiting for an ETF to become available.

The Spot Bitcoin ETF offered investors a way to add exposure to Bitcoin to their portfolios without actually buying and holding Bitcoin. That means you get all the benefits of the marketplace at no cost, like knowing how to use a hardware wallet or private keys.

Six in 10 people surveyed said their clients have been delving into crypto outside of their relationships with financial advisors—which Bitwise said is a promising sign for firms considering the lack of access to crypto products.

The survey found that the number of customers investing in crypto has decreased slightly, to 11% in 2023 from 15% in 2022 and 16% in 2021. But this is still higher than the 10 in 2020 and 2019. % Clients want part of their portfolio in crypto.

Remember: Bitwise isn't just asking about the possibilities of Bitcoin ETFs being allowed to trade in states. The company has some skin in the game. He first filed an application to register Bitwise Bitcoin ETF Trust with the Securities and Exchange Commission in 2019, but it was denied.

Bitwise then renewed its application in 2021, but it was again rejected. But the company hopes that this third time will be the charm. The firm formally filed its SEC denial in September, revised its application and resubmitted in November 2023. Among other changes, it is now called the “Bitwise Bitcoin ETF”.

Bitwise and VettaFi collected responses from 437 financial advisors between October 20 and December 18. It takes a lot of time to analyze that much survey data and turn it into a neat report – so the results are published a few weeks after the final response.

After the survey was completed, they revealed more details about what the SEC wants to see from applicants before the Bitcoin ETF can be approved for trading. Last – just before Christmas – applicants must disclose in their S-1 filings the permitted participants and the maximum option to create and compensate for the shares to be done in cash, not Bitcoin.

Most of the major applicants, such as BlackRock, Fidelity and Cathy Woodstock, have updated their applications to talk to approved participants. And earlier today, Bitcoin ETF advocates Greyscale, Arch, VanEyck and Valkyrie each filed notices with the SEC to begin trading after the regulator granted approval from their exchanges, such as the Chicago Board Options Exchange (Cboe). The green light.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.