(Bloomberg) -- Hester Peirce, a Republican member of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, says the Wall Street regulator is running out of excuses for not signing-off on a Bitcoin ETF.
“It’s well past time that we approve an exchange traded product in Bitcoin,” Peirce said in a Friday interview. “We have a lot more information now than we did. I’m hopeful that because we have new chairman and one that’s interested in this space we’ll have a chance to take a fresh look.”
Peirce’s open mind on digital tokens has earned her the nickname “Crypto Mom” among enthusiasts. Traders have speculated that Gary Gensler, who took over as SEC chairman last month, will be amicable to clearing the way for a Bitcoin ETF because he taught courses on digital assets at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
But there’s been little indication thus far that a quick approval is likely. In a May 11 statement that warned of risks for mutual funds that invest in Bitcoin futures, the SEC called the world’s biggest cryptocurrency “highly speculative.”
