Bitcoin ETFs Enable the ‘Mass Marketing’ of a Worthless Asset to Main Street Americans, Says Better Markets

An independent nonprofit organization said the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds has enabled the “mass marketing of a known worthless, volatile, and fraud-filled financial product to Main Street Americans.” The organization claimed that bitcoin proponents will likely portray the approval as some kind of government endorsement of cryptocurrencies.

Large Portion Bitcoin Trading Allegedly Tied to Wash Trades

Better Markets, an American nonprofit organization committed to promoting public interest in financial markets and the economy, has expressed dismay at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s approval of the spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF). The organization charged that instead of protecting crypto investors, the SEC has now enabled the “mass marketing of a known worthless, volatile, and fraud-filled financial product to Main Street Americans.”

In its Jan. 11, 2024, press statement, Better Markets insisted that the law does not support the U.S. regulator’s approval of ETF applications. It also attacked claims that a U.S. court ruling in favor of the crypto asset manager Grayscale had forced the SEC’s hand. As previously reported by Bitcoin.com News in August 2023, the U.S. court ruled that the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF was “arbitrary and capricious.”

However, in its fiery statement, Better Markets assailed suggestions that the SEC’s defeat meant it had to approve the ETFs.

“The court in Grayscale merely said that the SEC failed to sufficiently explain its prior rejection. The SEC could — and should have — rejected the ETF applications and better detailed why it did so, importantly including a showing that ‘as much as 77.5% of the total trading volume on unregulated exchanges was due to wash trading’ and as much as 95% of Bitcoin trading ‘could be due to wash trading,’” the nonprofit organization said.

The nonprofit organization also claimed that BTC proponents will likely portray the approval as some kind of government endorsement of cryptocurrencies. Turning its focus on BTC and cryptocurrencies in general, the organization said the top crypto asset remains a “worthless financial product” that is only favored by speculators, gamblers, and criminals.

According to a statement by Better Markets, no regulatory body has been able to effectively police the crypto industry. The statement also slammed Rostin Behnam, the chairman of the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), who it said had turned out to be “little more than a biased crypto cheerleader.”

What is your reaction to Better Markets’ take on the SEC’s approval of ETFs? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.