Bitcoin Critic Kicks Against Spot ETF Hype, Predicts Low Institutional Investment

The price of Bitcoin (BTC) moved above $30,000 in the last few hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. However, as with multiple instances in the past week, the crypto market leader was unable to sustain its bullish momentum, dipping by 0.6% in the last hour.

As the BTC market continues its battle against the $30,000 resistance zone, Bitcoin critic and gold advocate Peter Schiff has weighed in on the ongoing discourse surrounding the potential effects of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

Bitcoin ETF Will Not Boost Institutional Investment, Schiff Says

In a post on X on Saturday, Peter Schiff stated that contrary to popular beliefs, the availability of more Bitcoin ETFs will likely not result in a higher level of institutional investment in the world’s largest crypto asset.

Schiff’s heavy take comes at a time in which several asset managers are currently trying to gain approval to launch the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the US. 

#Bitcoin pumpers claim that once there are more #BitcoinETFs, investment professionals will start buying them for their clients. That will never happend. There’s just too much liability. Investment advisors won’t buy them and stock brokers will only accept unsolicited buy orders.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) October 21, 2023

Since the onset of this ETF saga in June, many market analysts have lauded the potential positive effects a spot Bitcoin ETF could produce, with some predicting BTC’s price to trade above $100,000.

According to a recent report by blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, the approval of a spot market ETF could result in BTC attaining a market cap of $900 billion and a total crypto market cap growth of $1 trillion. 

However, Peter Schiff presents an opposing theory to this debate as he believes investment brokers will likely not be purchasing such funds for their clients due to certain “liability.” 

In this context, “liability” likely refers to the risk factors attached to crypto investments, which include the crypto market volatility and lack of clear regulations in the US, among others.

Peter Schiff believes that with such existing “liability,” investment professionals will not promote or recommend a Bitcoin ETF to their clients. 

In the best-case scenario, he states that investment in Bitcoin ETFs – including a spot Bitcoin ETF – will likely occur through unsolicited buy orders whereby a client makes a specific request to purchase such funds. 

The ETF Saga Continues

In other news, the Bitcoin ETF saga has garnered more attention in recent weeks as more bullish predictions continue to roll in.

Most recently, Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, stated that the American largest exchange is confident the SEC will definitely greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF following the commission’s recent court loss against Grayscale.

Meanwhile, certain asset managers, including BlackRock and Ark Invest, have reviewed their ETF applications, indicating signs of an ongoing dialogue with the SEC, a move which typically precedes an approval by the securities regulator.

For now, it remains unknown if a spot Bitcoin ETF will eventually grace the US markets, but analysts have penned down January 10 as the expected date of approval.

Thereafter, Peter Schiff’s theory can be put to the test. However, it is worth stating that BTC did gain by 7% on October 16 following the fake news on the approval of BlackRock iShares ETF.

At the time of writing, BTC trades at $29,890.35 with a 0.6%  gain in the last day. Meanwhile, the token’s daily trading volume is down by 12.67% and valued at $13.35 billion

BTC trading at $29,885.27 on the hourly chart | Source: BTCUSDT chart on Tradingview.com

Featured image from American Enterprise Institute, chart from Tradingview