While many in the cryptoverse keep praying day and night for the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), to approve the Bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) filing of several distributed ledger technology-focused firms, Andreas Antonopoulos – a staunch bitcoin advocate – has made it clear on August 20, 2018, that the emergence of an ETF for the world’s pioneer cryptoasset may not be in the best interest of the cryptospace.
ETF Bad for Bitcoin
According to a Forbes report, the Greek-British tech entrepreneur-turned bitcoin evangelist has declared that though he firmly believes the SEC would approve a bitcoin ETF someday, he’s however not in support of the “terrible” idea.
The host of the Let’s Talk Bitcoin podcast, who is also a teaching fellow for Digital Currencies at the University of Nicosia has stated that he thinks the coming of a Bitcoin ETF would damage the cryptospace.
“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,” said Antonopoulos, adding “I’m actually against ETFs. I think a Bitcoin ETF is going to be damaging to the ecosystem.”
ETFs Entirely Against the Ethos of Blockchain and Cryptos
Antonopoulos further noted that ETFs are not in line with the decentralization ethos of the cryptocurrency ecosystem as an ETF is designed to pass through a central authority, invariably taking away power from the people.
“Your Key? Your bitcoin. Not your Keys? Not your bitcoin. An ETF is a multi-billionaire dollar ‘not your keys, not your bitcoin vehicle,” he concluded.
It’s worth noting that Antonopoulos caught the bitcoin bug as far back as 2012, just three years after the birth of the revolutionary currency.
His love for bitcoin made him abandon his job as a freelance consultant at the time and became a full-time bitcoin evangelist, rendering speeches at bitcoin conferences and writing articles about the digital currency free of charge.
In the world of blockchain money, nothing is impossible. The bitcoin big whale’s prediction may turn out to be entirely correct in the long run.
Before the launch of the CBOE and CME bitcoin futures contracts, a vast array of cryptocurrency experts thought its approval and successful launch would take the price of bitcoin to the moon.
However, it appears bitcoin futures contracts have only succeeded in giving pessimists a chance to bet against the price of bitcoin.
It remains to be seen what an ETF approval would bring to the crypto table.
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