tl;dr
BlackRock's Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, expressed skepticism about the potential for more crypto ETFs, including for Solana and XRP, despite expectations following the approval of a spot Ether ETF. Mitchnick believes that the market still lacks the maturity and liquidity needed for a v...
BlackRock's Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, expressed skepticism about the future of altcoin ETFs, including for Solana and XRP, despite expectations following the approval of a spot Ether ETF. Mitchnick believes that the market still lacks the maturity and liquidity needed for a variety of crypto ETFs. However, he emphasized that crypto as an asset class is here to stay, and more financial firms will enter the space.
Nate Geraci of ETH Store disagreed with Mitchnick, citing existing altcoin ETPs in Europe and expressing optimism about regulatory changes in the US.
Speaking at the Bitcoin Conference 2024, BlackRock Head of Digital Assets Robert Mitchnick poured cold water on the hopes of more crypto ETFs, including Solana and XRP, in the future. This is contrary to several crypto experts believing that the spot Ether ETF approval would open gates for more altcoin ETFs in the future.
Robert Mitchnick stated that chances of exchange-traded-funds (ETFs) that track other crypto assets like Solana’s SOL, Ripple’s XRP, etc are low, pointing out the lack of maturity and liquidity needed for such diverse offerings.
ETH Store President Nate Geraci disagreed with Mitchnick's views, citing existing altcoin ETPs in Europe and expressing optimism about regulatory changes in the US.
Mitchnick added that despite the lack of clarity on crypto regulations from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the regulator still wants to draw the line somewhere. He pointed out that the SEC wasn’t comfortable with spot Ether ETFs offering a staking facility.
Nate Geraci pointed out Europe where ETPs for altcoins like Solana, XRP, and Cardano are already there in the market. He expressed surprise at BlackRock's stance and remains optimistic about regulatory changes in the US.