Matrixport’s recent report on the likelihood of a U.S. SEC approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF has caused ripples in the cryptocurrency market. Jihan Wu, the founder of the crypto financial services firm, has stepped forward to address the bewildering contents of the report, which have been a source of intense debate among investors and market analysts.
Matrixport’s Questionable Claims Under Scrutiny
The report made several perplexing claims, the first being that Franklin Templeton’s ETF filing in September catalyzed the bull run. This statement overlooks that other major players like Invesco and Fidelity had already filed for ETFs, overshadowing Franklin Templeton’s influence. The report incorrectly marked September as the start of the bull run, ignoring the significant impact of a false Cointelegraph tweet and a subsequent gamma squeeze in October.
Furthermore, the report suggests that all ETF applications are missing a critical requirement, presumably alluding to the agreements with Coinbase, which holds only 11% of the spot market. This overlooks a key ruling from the DC Circuit Court of Appeals, which deemed surveillance of futures markets adequate as they are closely aligned with spot prices.
The third claim under scrutiny is the prediction that SEC commissioners would reject the ETFs even if staff recommendations were positive. Matrixport’s report questions the likelihood of approval, given a decade of rejections, without acknowledging the substantial evolution of the market and the serious nature of the current issuers.
Jihan Wu’s Response and Market Impact
In response to the turmoil caused by the report, Wu emphasized the independence of Matrixport’s analysts and distanced the company’s management from the report’s conclusions.
He pointed to other market factors, such as the fluctuating Bitcoin perpetual markets and downturns in crypto-related stocks, to explain the recent price volatility of Bitcoin. Wu maintains his confidence in the long-term potential of Bitcoin and the eventual approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
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