Kevin O'Leary: Bitcoin spot ETF may take 18 months to be approved

Kevin O'Leary, a Shark Tank investor and chairman of O'Leary Ventures, said that it may take another year and a half (18 months) for a Bitcoin spot ETF to be approved. O'Leary believes that increasing regulatory transparency is necessary for the US SEC to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF. He explained that a spot Bitcoin ETF requires a transparent and compliant cryptocurrency exchange to confirm spot market pricing on a daily basis, stressing that the U.S. SEC will not approve a Bitcoin spot ETF until an exchange that meets SEC requirements emerges. Kevin O'Leary highlighted two barriers to institutional investment in Bitcoin: SEC compliance and 24/7 trading. He explained that BTC’s 24/7 trading creates challenges for institutional investors, as they typically limit their exposure to each asset class to 5%. He pointed out that in the case of stocks, it is easy for institutional investors to rebalance their portfolios on a daily basis because the stock market closes at 16:00 Eastern Time every trading day. (Bitcoin.com)