WASHINGTON, D.C.—Dennis M. Kelleher, Co-Founder, President, and CEO issued the following statement on the filing of Better Markets’ comment letters (here and here) to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in response to multiple proposed rule changes filed by national securities exchanges seeking to list and trade shares in ether-based exchange-traded products (ETPs).
“The approval of spot bitcoin ETPs was a historic mistake, unsupported by the facts or law. It is little more than an ETP for Ponzi schemes. The immense and unrelenting fraud and manipulation in the bitcoin market means that the SEC’s approval will almost certainly cause massive investor harm. The SEC must not compound its mistake further by approving the listing and trading of ether-based ETPs, which would only expose even more hardworking Main Street investors to unnecessary risks, fraud, manipulation, volatility, and losses. One colossal regulatory mistake cannot justify another. As we detail in our comment letters, there is no basis for approval and the SEC must refuse to approve the ether-based ETPs.”
“The SEC’s approval of crypto-based ETPs has provided America’s investors with at least four levels of false comfort: First, it will be and has already been seen as an approval if not endorsement of bitcoin and crypto more generally. Second, it will be and has been misreported and mischaracterized as the much more well-known and trusted ETF investment vehicle, which is subject to many more investor protections than the easily confused ETPs. Third, it will allow the involvement of traditional and trusted financial firms like Blackrock and Fidelity to suggest an unmerited level of legitimacy. Finally, it will lead investors to believe, by virtue of SEC approval, that these products come with regulatory protections that don’t actually apply.
“The equally unmerited approval of ether-based ETPs will multiply investors’ false comfort, and it too will result in millions of American investors, including many just trying to save for a decent retirement, risking their hard-earned money in a worthless, speculative, and highly volatile financial product. There is no—and will be no—effective cop on the bitcoin beat, and the same is true for ether and the Ethereum ecosystem. The applicants cannot satisfy the statutory requirements, and no surveillance-sharing agreement can address the risk of fraud and manipulation they present. Moreover, the ‘price correlation’ analysis the Commission wove out of thin air for bitcoin is even less persuasive when applied to ether.”
Read our full comment letters here and here.
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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.
