Bitcoin Critic Peter Schiff: BTC Price Could Drop Even Though The SEC Agrees To ETF

JAKARTA - The price of Bitcoin has the potential to fall even though the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced the approval of a Bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) on Wednesday, January 10, 2024. This was conveyed by Peter Schiff, a well-known investor and economist from the United States, who is known as a Bitcoin critic.

According to Schiff, Bitcoin's ETF approval does not guarantee an increase in Bitcoin prices, it could even be the other way around. He warned that there is a possibility that the SEC is delaying or rejecting offers of ETFs from several companies. "Don't expect too much on Bitcoin ETFs. This could be a'selling news' (sell the news) event that will trigger price drops," Schiff said on his Twitter account.

Schiff responded to the Bitcoin price volatility that occurred before the SEC announcement. On Tuesday, January 9, 2024, the price of Bitcoin jumped to touch US$47,000 or around Rp730 million (exchange rate of Rp15,540 per US dollar) after the US SEC X account was hacked and issued a false tweet stating that the SEC had approved a Bitcoin spot ETF from Ark 21Shares.

Even so, the price of Bitcoin then fell back below 46.000 US dollars or around Rp. 714 million after SEC Chairman Gary Gensler denied the tweet and said the account had been hacked.

Gensler also clarified that the SEC has not made any decisions regarding Bitcoin spot trading product offerings and trades. He said that the SEC is still evaluating and reviewing various aspects, including risks, benefits, and the impact of Bitcoin ETF on the capital market.

Currently, there are several companies applying for an ETF Bitcoin spot to the SEC, including Blackrock, Fidelity, Bitwise, Grayscale, and Valkyrie. The SEC has 60 days to make a decision on approval or rejection of the petition. The deadline for the ETF Bitcoin spot of Ark 21Shares is January 10, 2024, so the SEC is expected to announce a decision for all applicants on the same day.

The Bitcoin spot ETF is different from the future-based Bitcoin ETF, which follows the Bitcoin price in the derivative market, which is a market that sets prices for future shipments. The future-based Bitcoin ETF was approved by the SEC in October 2023, but received a negative response from most of the crypto community.