JPMorgan: SEC Approval of Spot Bitcoin ETF Likely Not to Be a Game Changer

• A JPMorgan strategist believes SEC approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF will not be a game changer.
• The banking giant has argued that similar products exist in Canada and Europe.
• The strategist pointed out that Bitcoin funds have attracted little interest from investors over the past two years.
• JPMorgan’s report acknowledged that spot BTC ETFs would bring greater liquidity and transparency to the BTC markets.

Wall Street giant JPMorgan believes a spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States will not have the impact the crypto and TradFi communities believe. According to a JPMorgan strategist, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s seal of approval for US companies to offer spot BTC ETFs is unlikely to be a game changer for the crypto market.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs would add liquidity and price transparency

According to a report by BloombergJPMorgan strategist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou stated in a note earlier today that the SEC’s approval of a spot BTC ETF is unlikely to be a game changer. The strategist pointed out that similar products have been offered in the European and Canadian markets for years and have not attracted significant investment. The strategist believes that the optimism and hype surrounding such an exchange-traded fund will get a reality check once it hits the US crypto market.

Bitcoin funds in general, including futures-based and physically backed funds, have attracted little investor interest since the second quarter of 2021, nor have they benefited from investor outflows from gold ETFs over the past year.

Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou, strategist at JPMorgan

That said, Panigirtzoglou acknowledged the benefits of having a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US crypto market, adding that physically backed funds offered more opportunities than futures-based funds. The JPMorgan strategist’s note added that spot ETFs would provide more direct and secure exposure to Bitcoin by addressing custody issues. He added that spot ETFs would more accurately reflect real-time supply, bring more liquidity and improve price transparency in spot bitcoin markets.