bitcoinbased exchangetraded funds are closer than ever to becoming a reality but approval is still a ways away one market analyst says the securities and exchange commission is currently reviewing vanecks second proposal for a bitcoin etf officials now have roughly two weeks to decide whether to approve reject or extend their review window even with coinbases direct listing reinvigorating interest in the cryptocurrency market prospective bitcoin etf issuers will still face obstacles says bitwise asset management chief investment officer matt hougan the crypto industry … has gone through this massive institutional maturation every aspect of it has improved significantly over the past five years over the past three years and over the past year coinbase going public is just another part of that narrative he told cnbcs etf edge this week so absolutely were getting closer to a bitcoin etf i continue to think its a matter of when and not if but were not all the way there yet he said the sec has been asking good questions and companies like bitwise and others have been working to address those but i do think were getting closer the nomination of gary gensler a former goldman sachs executive who taught a class on cryptocurrencies and blockchain at mit to lead the sec could push things forward hougan said i think it helps in that its a new administration a new fresh set of priorities and that hes an expert on this space but i dont think theres any magic sauce the cio said the market has to be good enough has to be institutional enough has to be mature enough to support an etf before the sec greenlights one but the good news is i do think were closer to that point today than we were in the past and i really think were getting there