In an interesting set of developments, major financial institutions in the US are urging the SEC to consider flexible crypto narratives. The banks are making official requests to the SEC, urging the agency to let them explore the domain of crypto as custodians of the recently launched spot Bitcoin ETFs.
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US Banks Wants To Explore Spot Bitcoin ETF Custodianship
On February 14, the Bank Policy Institute, American Bankers Association, Financial Services Forum, and Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association submitted an official plea to the SEC.
The plea streamlines the recent approval for spot Bitcoin ETFs, further noting how American banks were “absent” from accessing the approved crypto products as custodians.
“The Commission recently approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETPs, allowing investors access to this asset class through a regulated product. However, notably absent from those approved products are banking organizations serving as asset custodians. This is a role they regularly play for most other ETPs. These ETPs have already experienced billions of dollars in inflows, but it is practically impossible for banks to serve as custodians for those ETPs.” The plea outlined
The letter urged the SEC to consider modifying the clauses (SAB 121). The letter further urged the SEC to deliver more flexibility to the banks. This would entail American banks playing an essential role as custodians of the newly launched Bitcoin ETFs.
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Increased Interest Surrounding Spot Bitcoin ETFs Dubbed Bullish by Experts
With banks showing a flurry of new interest surrounding spot BTC ETFs, crypto experts and intellectuals have been referring to the development as the most “positive sign” for the industry to explore in recent times.
Talking about the development in detail, Bitwise CEO Matt Hougan dubbed the letter transformative in many ways.
Hougan suggested that the launch of Spot Bitcoin ETFs has changed the “tone around crypto regulation in Washington.”
The increased interest in bitcoin spot ETFs has been doing wonders for the price of bitcoin. At press time, BTC is trading at $51,802, signaling a bullish streak.