BlackRock’s Head of Digital Assets, Robert Mitchnick, downplays chances of Solana and XRP ETFs at Bitcoin Conference 2024.
Robert Mitchnick, the Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, expressed his skepticism regarding the prospect of additional crypto ETFs, such as XRP and Solana, in the future during his presentation at the Bitcoin Conference 2024 on the first day.
This is in direct opposition to the belief of numerous crypto experts that the approval of the spot Ether ETF would facilitate the development of additional altcoin ETFs in the future.
According to Robert Mitchnick, the head of BlackRock’s digital assets division, the likelihood of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that track other crypto assets, such as Ripple’s XRP and Solana’s SOL, is low.
During his interview with Bloomberg’s James Seyffart at the Bitcoin Conference, he provided a more detailed explanation of his reasoning. Mitchnick stated:
“I don’t think we’re going to see a long list of crypto ETFs. If you think of Bitcoin, today it represents about 55% of the market cap. ETH is at 18%. The next plausible investible asset is at, like, 3%. It’s just not close to being at that threshold or track record of maturity, liquidity, et cetera.”
Nevertheless, he asserts that crypto as an asset class is not in a state of decline and that additional financial institutions will have the opportunity to participate in the crypto market. Conversely, competitors such as VanEck have already initiated the transition to Solana ETFs.
On the other hand, the spot Ether ETFs have experienced a lackluster start following their launch. Two consecutive days of outflows have been recorded for these products, with Grayscale’s ETHE bleeding violently. Additionally, BlackRock is maintaining the other hand to maintain the inflows.
Mitchnick further stated that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is still interested in establishing a clear line on crypto regulations, despite the lack of clarity. He emphasized that the SEC was uneasy with spot Ether ETFs that provided a staking facility.
Nate Geraci, the President of the ETH Store, expressed his utter disagreement with Mitchnick’s perspective.
Geraci identified Europe as a region where ETPs for altcoins such as Solana, XRP, and Cardano are already available. “SOL, XRP, ADA, and other ETPs are readily visible in Europe.” He also expressed his surprise that BlackRock would make this statement.
Geraci declared that introducing comparable products in the United States would undoubtedly necessitate regulatory modifications; nevertheless, he remains optimistic about the matter.
