The Brief for July 13, 2020

Thanks to all who emailed me about Crypto is Easy issue #5. I’ll reply within the next few days!

In this week’s brief, I wanted to pass along two U.S.-centric articles that matter to everybody.

• SEC Adopts Expedited Public Listing Review Process—Blockchain ETFs Could Qualify

  • Bottom line: by spring 2021, U.S. regulators will shorten the review process for exchange-traded funds whenever the SEC has already approved a similar fund. Once they implement the new process, approval could come as soon as 45 days for some applications, compared to the present process that takes six months, on average.

  • My take: this means savvy fund managers can now use precedent to justify their applications, which will make it easier to fit non-traditional ETFs (like crypto) into the regulatory box. Also, once the SEC approves a bitcoin ETF, we’ll see other bitcoin ETFs come to market fairly quickly.

  • Why we care: because a bitcoin ETF would give traditional investors a cheap, easy way to speculate on bitcoin’s price without creating a wallet or trading account. As a result, more people will invest in bitcoin when its price starts going up.

• U.S. Moves Closer To Digital Dollar

  • Bottom line: U.S. Congress wants a digital dollar.

  • My take: a digital dollar might use blockchain, but that’s not the goal. Policymakers want an easy way to get money directly to people who do not use the banking system. You don’t need blockchain for that.

  • Why we care: it’ll be tough for Congress to support a digital dollar but not cryptocurrency, especially as we get more crypto projects that serve a public or business need. Should make for interesting debates as crypto matures or prices go up a lot.

Hope you’re all doing ok. Relax and enjoy the ride!