Mike Belshe, the CEO of BitGo and the principal engineer on the SegWit2x project, was asked recently in an interview with CNBC whether he would rather see an ETF or a custodial service. In response, he said that it would rely on the surrounding regulatory framework.
The significance of Belshe's remarks is that, despite his support for an ETF, he does not think one will materialize quickly enough for Bitcoin to gain from it. He stated: I believe that regulators have not yet provided us with a clear understanding of how this should be set up.
The question of whether he believed Bitcoin ETFs will be allowed this year was then posed to Belshe. I'm not sure whether I would say [they] will be granted in 2018, but I believe they'll happen this year, he said.
Apart from his remarks against Bitcoin ETFs in general, Belshe also voiced skepticism over BitGo's in-house custody service. He stated: We believe there's still a lot of room for improvement in terms of security, so we're not really looking at custodial solutions at this time.