By
Godfrey Benjamin
May 10th, 2024
The Matrixport founder believes that, in the long run, BTC will maintain its position as a store of value and a risk-hedging asset, surpassing gold.
Matrixport founder Jihan Wu has addressed the recent decline in Bitcoin (BTC) price after the company released its market overview report on Wednesday.
Wu, also the founder of the BTC mining firm Bitdeer, said the widespread use of the report, which claimed the SEC would reject all the spot bitcoin ETF applications by the media, was not planned by Matrixport and was beyond the company’s control.
Not for Public Consumption
According to him, the report titled “Why the SEC will REJECT Bitcoin Spot ETFs Again” was prepared for Matrixport customers to be aware of the risks associated with cryptocurrencies due to their inherent volatility nature and not directly for public consumption.
Wu also clarified that Matrixport analysts “operate independently, expressing their opinions without any influence or interference from management.”
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
In the Matrixport report, the author, Markus Thielen, a senior analyst at the crypto-focused financial services firm, outlined why the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) would likely delay the anticipated approval of the spot-based ETFs this January.
Thielen pointed out that the issuers omitted crucial requirements in their applications, which are necessary for SEC considerations.
He also cited the current composition of the five-person voting Commissioners, dominated by Democrats, as one of the possible reasons that could cause the rejection.
“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 US, and it might even be a very long shot to expect that he would vote to approve Bitcoin Spot ETFs,” explained he.
Bitcoin Price Plummets to $40,000
Shortly after the report’s release, BTC plummeted to $40,000, followed by Ethereum (ETH) and other altcoins. However, the leading crypto asset has since recovered and is currently trading at around $43,000 at press time.
The crypto community blamed the ongoing market volatility on the Matrixport report. However, Wu has dismissed the claim that the Matrixport report was responsible for Bitcoin’s price decline, attributing the movement to the “high funding fees” in BTC perpetual markets and the recent pullback in crypto-related stocks.
Bitcoin: A Store of Value
Commenting on the market decline, Wu expressed confidence in BTC’s prospects despite recent downturns.
He asserted that the current volatility and uncertainty surrounding the potential approval of a Bitcoin ETF in January 2024 hold little importance in light of Bitcoin’s history and future prospects.
“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,” Wu said.
The Matrixport founder believes that, in the long run, BTC will maintain its position as a store of value and a risk-hedging asset, surpassing gold.