The Securities and Alternate Fee is at the moment reviewing VanEck’s second proposal for a bitcoin ETF. Officers now have roughly two weeks to determine whether or not to approve, reject or lengthen their evaluation window.

Even with Coinbase’s direct itemizing reinvigorating curiosity within the cryptocurrency market, potential bitcoin ETF issuers will nonetheless face obstacles, says Bitwise Asset Administration chief funding officer Matt Hougan.

“The crypto trade … has gone by means of this huge institutional maturation. Each facet of it has improved considerably over the previous 5 years, over the previous three years and over the previous yr. Coinbase going public is simply one other a part of that narrative,” he advised CNBC’s “ETF Edge” this week.

“So, completely, we’re getting nearer to a bitcoin ETF. I proceed to assume it is a matter of when and never if, however we’re not all the best way there but,” he stated. “The SEC has been asking good questions and firms like Bitwise and others have been working to handle these. However I do assume we’re getting nearer.”

The nomination of Gary Gensler, a former Goldman Sachs government who taught a category on cryptocurrencies and blockchain at MIT, to guide the SEC may push issues ahead, Hougan stated.

“I believe it helps in that it is a new administration, a brand new, recent set of priorities and that he is an professional on this area, however I do not assume there’s any magic sauce,” the CIO stated.

“The market needs to be ok, needs to be institutional sufficient, needs to be mature sufficient to help an ETF earlier than the SEC greenlights one. However the excellent news is I do assume we’re nearer to that time immediately than we had been prior to now, and I actually assume we’re getting there.”