The crypto community is eagerly awaiting the SEC’s decision on the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States, but Bitcoin maximalist Max Keiser has raised a red flag against the financial instrument. He suggests that the U.S. government could seize Bitcoin held in spot ETFs, citing national security interests as the driving force behind such potential action.
Keiser points to a statement in the Valkyrie Bitcoin Fund’s SEC filing, which indicates that U.S. federal regulators could force the liquidation of Bitcoin through the trust holding the assets. He argues that this action would contradict Bitcoin’s decentralized nature.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs issue shares against physical Bitcoin purchases, contrasting with self-custody methods, as they use designated custodial services. Bloomberg’s senior ETF strategist James Seyffart acknowledges Keiser’s claim, suggesting that while unlikely, it is technically possible and advises investors concerned about government seizure or societal collapse to avoid investing in spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The comparison between spot gold ETFs and spot Bitcoin ETFs is also a topic of debate. Seyffart argues that spot Bitcoin ETFs, with transparent practices like proof of reserve and wallet address disclosures, pose less risk than spot gold ETFs, which face issues like impurity and counterfeit bars.
In response to a social media user’s claim that governments could more easily seize Bitcoin in spot ETFs, Seyffart notes that the same could be said for gold in vaults, and nothing about ETFs prevents individuals from keeping their Bitcoin in cold storage wallets.
