Journalist
Posted:
- Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton remained optimistic about a possible Bitcoin ETF approval.
- Retail interest in Bitcoin hit an all-time high amid declining interest in whales.
Bitcoin last month [BTC] has experienced significant volatility, leaving many traders uncertain about the future price direction. Despite this, Jay Clayton, the former chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), remained optimistic that a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) would eventually gain approval in the United States.
Read Bitcoin’s [BTC] Price forecast 2023-2024
Clayton underlined that Bitcoin is not a security and highlighted the growing demand for access to it from both retail and institutional investors. He claimed that the ongoing division between futures-based and cash-based Bitcoin ETFs could not last indefinitely.
Is there hope for BTC in the future?
While futures-based Bitcoin ETFs already have a presence in the US, the SEC has not yet given the green light for a Bitcoin ETF. A recent federal court ruling in Grayscale v. SEC case criticized the SEC’s rejection of mock Bitcoin ETFs as “arbitrary and capricious” due to insufficient justification for treating similar products differently.
Clayton acknowledged the possibility of another rejection based on other grounds, but remained uncertain as to what those grounds might be.
The SEC recently delayed decisions on spot Bitcoin ETF proposals from companies like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco, pushing those decisions back to at least mid-October.
Retail interest in Bitcoin is rising to new highs
Retail investors continue to show a strong interest in Bitcoin, a trend reflected in Glassnode’s data. The number of addresses with 0.1 or more Bitcoin has risen to a record high of 4,469,208.
Conversely, interest in whales in Bitcoin has declined significantly. The number of addresses with 100 or more Bitcoin has reached a three-month low of 15,972 per Glassnode.
Source: Glassnode
This reduction in interest in whales could have implications for Bitcoin price dynamics going forward.
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Whales, with their considerable assets, often have the power to significantly influence the market. A decrease in their participation could lead to greater price stability, but possibly also to lower trading volumes.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $25,937. The price continued to fluctuate due to the changing regulatory landscape and market sentiment.