SEC Could Approve a Bitcoin Futures ETF by October, Says Bloomberg Strategist

The US Securities and Exchange Commission could greenlight a Bitcoin futures ETF as early as October this year, said Bloomberg’s Senior Commodity Strategist – Mike McGlone.

He also doubled down on his $100,000 price prediction for BTC by the end of the year, adding that the cryptocurrency is on its way to replace gold, similarly to how the car outplaced the horse as the most utilized transportation tool.

Bitcoin Futures ETF Coming Soon?

The topic of whether the US securities regulator will approve a Bitcoin ETF has been going on for years, with the watchdog refusing to greenlight even one of the countless applications. At the same time, Canada, among other nations, already has such products live.

Consequently, the northern neighbor of the US has attracted investors, such as Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, who want exposure to a BTC ETF, said McGlone in a recent interview. This will push the SEC to finally approve an exchange-traded fund tracking the performance of bitcoin, even if it is a futures one.

In fact, he predicted that such a “baby step” development could be right around the corner – by the end of October.

Thus, Bloomberg’s strategist added this potential approval to his list of reasons why he believes BTC could skyrocket to $100,000 by the end of the year.

Earlier in September, Fidelity Investments – a company that has filed a few applications with the SEC to have its own BTC ETF – urged the regulator to approve such a product, which could boost the asset’s legitimacy among certain investors.

Bitcoin Vs. Gold

Another debate widely discussed within and outside of the cryptocurrency industry sees the duel between gold – regarded as the best store of value asset for centuries, and bitcoin – perceived by some as the (better) digital version of the metal.

McGlone joined the BTC camp, indicating that Bloomberg’s research department has observed a substantial outflow of gold-related funds into such with exposure to bitcoin or directly into the cryptocurrency.

Thus, the analyst advised investors who already have exposure to bonds and gold to take even a small portion of their allocation and put it into bitcoin. Otherwise, they risk being “left out” of significant gains, which are more likely to occur for BTC.

He outlined one major difference between the two assets that will benefit bitcoin – the cryptocurrency works digitally, while gold doesn’t. In a world rapidly migrating to the online space, this is the critical feature that will eventually help BTC to succeed.

“I fear that people that keep pointing out how gold has been a hedge forever – I agree with you. But, I will leave you with this – before the automobile, the horse was the best form of transformation. Every day that bitcoin doesn’t fail, it is moving into gold’s space.”

Ray Dalio is Wrong

McGlone also touched upon the topic of regulations, which has been a hot one lately. Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge fund legend, noted earlier this month that if bitcoin is to become a success, US watchdogs will step up and stop it. He believes they can do so because they have all the necessary tools.

However, Bloomberg’s strategist disagreed with Dalio. Just the opposite, he classified such a development as “almost impossible.”

“I have gone through those iterations numerous times. And, how do you stop bitcoin unless you change the laws of this country? The only way I see that really stops bitcoin is to ban the internet.”