Over the past 24 hours, fintech news sources have been breathlessly whispering about the theoretical consequences of Japanese regulators accepting Bitcoin ETF where American agencies have as of yet failed to do so.
Now, this morning, many of these reporters are walking back this idea.
As reported by Adrian Zmudzinski at Cointelegraph this morning, the Japanese have denied that they are considering approving a Bitcoin ETF anytime soon.
Zmudzinski cites direct communications with Japan’s FSA and the resulting response:
“At this moment, we are not exploring an approval of ETFs based on crypto assets.”
Prior to this, CCN was even asking if a Japanese decision could affect the American market where the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has been dragging its heels over a Bitcoin ETF decision.
“If a Bitcoin ETF is approved in Japan before the U.S., there exists a possibility that it may lead the U.S. government to approve a Bitcoin ETF in its local market,” an anonymous CCN poster wrote recently, before hearing the news of the reversal of course based on actual verification. “Japan remains as the only country to have integrated a national licensing program for cryptocurrency exchanges, only allowing a handful of exchanges that are fully compliant with existing regulations to operate within the country … currently, the time frame of the FSA’s decision on the approval of Bitcoin ETFs is uncertain and it may also take many months for the government to come to a consensus on the subject.”
We’ve been reporting on how the deadline for the VanEck Bitcoin ETF approval has been floating along toward the middle of 2019 – it’s currently set for sometime in February. Hester Peirce, the most BTC-ETF-friendly commissioner, has noted that it may take a while.
A Bitcoin ETF from any national regulator would be a watershed moment for cryptocurrencies. It would allow for many smaller investors to instantly get into the game, which would be likely to push markets significantly upward. If you’re looking at short-term trading for cryptocurrencies, you really want to keep your eye on any news involving a bitcoin ETF. If your long term, though, you can sit back and take comfort in the long list of institutional actions toward larger cryptocurrency adoption.
