This past month, the cryptocurrency industry has suffered a new shock that has completely affected the sector.
FTX has filed for bankruptcy following a liquidity crisis that has resulted in the inability to meet withdrawal requests from its clients. Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Asset Research at FTX, said: vaneck, has spoken out about this situation at Token2049 in London, explaining his impressions on the consequences of this situation for Bitcoin ETFs and how VanEck has managed to minimize the damage. In addition, he has also explained the realistic probabilities that exist of obtaining an ETF backed by physical BTC under the current administration of the SEQ.
VanEck is a traditional asset management firm. According to Sigel, it is “one of the largest ETF sponsors, with approximately $60 billion in assets under management.” In addition, it has also stated that the vast majority of its funds are in passive ETFs, such as the Gold Mining ETF – GDX.
VanEck was one of the first firms to apply for a physically-backed Bitcoin ETF back in 2017. This application has been repeatedly denied, but they claim to dedicate the time, resources and manpower to investing from a private perspective, with their own balance sheet. They have relationships with several venture capital firms and a stake in one of them and claim to have been investing privately for several years.
In relation to the current situation of the sector and how it considers that it will affect the Bitcoin ETF, Sigel says this doesn't matter. "For a Bitcoin ETF in particular, I don't see the events of the past few days as important," he explained, adding that "Bitcoin is unique, even in the eyes of policymakers."
Likewise, Matthew Sigel also explained that there are few options at present to obtain a physically backed Bitcoin ETF approved by the SEC. Sigel explains that these are very rare under the current administration of the Securities and Exchange Commission and that there is “a clear obstacle at the top of the SEC.” He also stressed that to achieve this, “regulators need to take a few more steps, and so far legislation in the field of cryptocurrencies has been slow.”
On the other hand, as for the FTX crisis and the collapse of the FTT token, explained that VanEck managed to minimize exposure by selling in advance in the period “prior to this event.” Regarding active management strategies, he explained that there are many and very different ones depending on the level of risk and performance, concluding that it is essential for the sector to establish a clear delineation between exchanges and their market makers and to establish Proof of Reserve for centralized exchanges.
