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Financial Nonprofit Better Markets: Approving a Spot Ether ETF Would Threaten 'the Broader Financial System'

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Better Markets, a financial nonprofit organization, has lashed out against approving a spot ether ETF product, stating that it would endanger the broader financial system. In a supplemental comment letter sent to the SEC, the organization states that approving these spot ether ETPs would “interweave the crypto industry with traditional finance,” aggravating systemic risks introduced by equivalent bitcoin products.

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Financial Nonprofit Better Markets: Approving a Spot Ether ETF Would Threaten 'the Broader Financial System'

Better Markets Warns About the Effects of Approving an Ether ETF

Better Markets, a nonprofit financial organization that aims to “promote the public interest in the financial markets” and “support the financial reform of Wall Street,” has warned about the dangers of approving a spot ether exchange-traded fund (ETF) product.

In a supplemental comment letter sent to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the organization criticized the commission’s earlier approval of a Bitcoin ETF, stating that this has allowed “the industry to peddle some of its products to retail investors with a veneer of legitimacy.” Better Markets also remarked on its opinion of the cryptocurrency, stating it was “plagued by fraud, scams, and abuses.”

The nonprofit argued that the current experience with similar bitcoin-based products outlines why a spot ether ETF should not be approved. Volatility, evidenced by the “swings” in the underlying asset price even after the approval of bitcoin’s ETFs, is one of the factors wielded by Better Markets to underpin its opinion.

Better Markets declared:

Ether is no less prone to extreme price volatility than is bitcoin, which makes investing in ether little more than a gamble.

Furthermore, it warned about the effects of this hypothetical approval on the financial world outside crypto, stressing that “approving spot ether ETPs would further interweave the crypto industry with traditional finance.” This would aggravate the systemic risks introduced by the earlier approval of several bitcoin ETFs.

Several analysts and institutions have weighed on the outcome of the possibility of approving this product. While most are optimistic about its eventual approval, some doubt it will happen next May.

What do you think about Better Markets’ letter to the SEC? Tell us in the comments section below.