A former senior U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) official says a possible future event could lead to the likely approval of a spot-based Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).
John Reed Stark, who founded the SEC’s Office of Internet Enforcement and served as its chief for 11 years, say that crypto has become a bipartisan political issue in the United States.
Stark believes Republicans are generally more supportive of crypto than Democrats.
He says a spot-based Bitcoin ETF would likely be approved by the SEC if a Republican is elected president in November 2024.
“Given the partisan divide that has emerged regarding crypto, especially with the SEC, my view is that if a Republican is elected president of the US in 2024, the list of Republicans nominated to the SEC is likely:
1) Significantly reduce the SEC’s crypto enforcement efforts, likely primarily filing fraud cases, shifting efforts away from charging pure registration violations (such as the failure of a crypto trading platform to register as an exchange, broker dealer and clearing company); And
2) Become much more receptive to getting a Bitcoin spot ETF approved and much more likely to take other important crypto-friendly regulatory action.
Stark says SEC membership will be split in half between the two parties if a Republican wins the presidential race. He also says pro-crypto SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce could become acting SEC chairman.
“When a president is elected, the current SEC chairman typically resigns and the new position of SEC chairman is rarely confirmed and filled until at least three to four months after inauguration day.
So if a Republican is elected president, [SEC] Chair [Gary] Gensler would likely resign and the Republican-appointed SEC commissioner (in this case, famed “crypto mom” Hester Peirce) might become acting chairman.”
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