SEC Chair Gary Gensler actually is pro-Bitcoin, Vault Equity CEO argues

Vault recently received approval for an ETF that includes stocks in various crypto-related companies.

The founder of Vault Equity believes that United States regulators have a fair reason to be slow in approving a pure Bitcoin (BTC)-related exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Vault Equity CEO and founder Tad Park voiced support for the U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) regarding the regulator’s unwillingness to approve an ETF that would track Bitcoin directly.

In a Tuesday Fox Business interview, Park argued that SEC chair Gary Gensler “actually is pro-Bitcoin” but is also “a little bit misunderstood” regarding his perspective on crypto regulation in the U.S.

Park specifically referred to the SEC’s investor protection concerns, namely that crypto custody providers have yet to assure the commission that they can actually ensure proper asset protection: 

“I can say ‘I have a gold ETF or a Bitcoin ETF’ but I’m storing that gold in my basement. Is the SEC gonna allow that? Probably not. Unless companies can show they can custody it and actually address a lot of the issues Gansler specifically mentioned, it’s not gonna work.”

The CEO added that “at least half” of current crypto ETF applications with the SEC “are not even valid” because “they are not addressing what Gary Gensler is saying.”

Park emphasized that Vault Equity’s crypto ETF does not provide direct exposure to Bitcoin, but instead tracks major Bitcoin-correlated companies including MicroStrategy, Tesla, Twitter, Square as well as Bitcoin mining companies like Bitfarms.

“We try to get at what people are actually looking for, which is correlation to Bitcoin’s price movement. These companies are really focusing on Bitcoin and get the majority of their income and revenues from Bitcoin. It makes sense that they tend to move along with Bitcoin’s price,” Park noted.

Related: Bitcoin futures ETF will likely be delayed until 2022 says research firm CFRA

Approved on Oct. 1, Vault Equity’s Volt Crypto Industry Revolution and Tech ETF tracks “Bitcoin Industry Revolution Companies,” a list of firms holding a majority of their net assets in Bitcoin or derive a majority of their earnings from Bitcoin mining, lending or transactions.

The SEC has yet to approve a pure Bitcoin ETF. On Oct. 1, the SEC extended the deadline for four Bitcoin ETFs including Global X Bitcoin Trust, Valkyrie XBTO Bitcoin Futures Fund, WisdomTree Bitcoin Trust and Kryptoin Bitcoin ETF. In August, SEC chair Gensler suggested that the regulator might be open to approving Bitcoin futures ETFs.