Matrixport founder says dissemination of Bitcoin ETF report was ‘beyond our control’

Jihan Wu, founder of Bitcoin mining company Bitdeer and crypto financial services firm Matrixport, said that the widespread dissemination of a report claiming that Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) may not be approved in January was “not planned by Matrixport and is beyond our control."

On Jan. 3, the price of Bitcoin ( BTC ) fell by more than 10% to $40,800 before recovering . The price action coincided with the release of Matrixport’s report for its clients, where analysts opined that spot Bitcoin ETF proposals, widely believed to be on track for regulatory approval, would be rejected by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission this month. Matrixport researchers claimed:

“The current five-person voting Commissioners leadership critical for the ETF approval of the SEC is dominated by Democrats. SEC Chair Gensler is not embracing crypto in the U.S., and it might even be a very long shot to expect that he would vote to approve Bitcoin Spot ETFs.”

In response to the ongoing market volatility, Wu stated that Matrixport analysts “operate independently, expressing their opinions without any influence or interference from management.” The founder also shrugged off claims that the Matrixport report derailed the price of Bitcoin, instead blaming the price action on the Bitcoin perpetual markets’ “high funding fees” and the recent pullback in crypto-related stocks.

“Looking at Bitcoin’s history and its future prospects, the current volatility and the potential approval uncertainty of a Bitcoin ETF in January 2024 are ultimately of no importance,” said Wu. “In my opinion, the approval of a Spot ETF by SEC, which will attract fresh investment into Bitcoin, is inevitable.”

Matrixport's analysts operate independently, expressing their opinions without any influence or interference from management. They are employed for their superior analytical skills compared to mine and other management team. I have only briefly glanced at the title of the report,…

— Jihan Wu (@JihanWu) January 3, 2024

Related: Bitcoin ETF denial report did not cause 8% BTC price crash — Analysis