Circle’s Allaire Says Bitcoin ETFs Likely to Be Approved: Bloomberg

Circle’s co-founder and CEO, Jeremy Allaire, expects the new wave of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to be approved as “past concerns” of regulators are being addressed.

“I believe progress is being made with more mature market structures that would support something like that. You have mature spot markets, well-regulated custody infrastructure, and good market surveillance,” he said during an interview with Bloomberg at the World Economic Forum. “Many of the past concerns are being addressed, suggesting that these kinds of products are more likely to be approved for general investor access.”

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has received multiple spot bitcoin ETF applications from blue-chip asset managers such as BlackRock (BLK) and Invesco (IVZ).

Many believe that the creation of a market surveillance mechanism is the secret to getting these spot ETFs approved, much as regulators in Ontario wanted to see a mature custody ecosystem in place before approving the first bitcoin ETFs to trade in Toronto.

ProShares’ Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), a bitcoin futures fund, recorded the highest weekly inflow in over a year, with investors pouring in $65 million, CoinDesk recently reported, demonstrating that the asset class still has considerable interest from investors.

During the interview with Bloomberg, Allaire also said that Circle is seeing demand for digital dollars in emerging markets.

“Singapore regulators have been at the forefront of this, and Hong Kong is looking to establish itself as a significant center for the digital asset markets and stablecoins. We're paying very close attention to that,” he said.