Washington, Thursday, September 07: In a recent development, a three-member panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit delivered a verdict on Tuesday, September 5th, asserting that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) had erred in its decision to deny Grayscale Investments’ request for the listing of an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) designed to mirror the value of Bitcoin.
The SEC has not yet said whether it will appeal the ruling. However, the agency is facing increasing pressure from lawmakers and investors to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs. A recent poll found that 70% of Americans believe that the SEC should approve spot Bitcoin ETFs.
This ruling marks a notable milestone in the ongoing discussion surrounding cryptocurrency regulation.
Grayscale’s Chief Legal Officer Craig Salm says in a report that he expects the regulator to approve the ETF.
“It’s a matter of when, not a matter of if,” Bitcoin spot ETFs will be approved in the U.S., Salm says on TechCrunch’s Chain Reaction podcast.1.
It remains to be seen whether the SEC will ultimately approve spot Bitcoin ETFs, but the ruling is seen by cryptocurrency circles.
Grayscale is the world’s largest Bitcoin investment firm. Its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is a popular way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin. The SEC has denied all spot Bitcoin ETF applications to date, citing concerns about market manipulation and investor protection.
However, the court held that the SEC’s reasoning as ‘flawed”.
The court noted that the SEC had approved Bitcoin Futures ETFs, which are similar to spot Bitcoin ETFs in many ways. The court also said that the SEC had not adequately explained why it was treating spot Bitcoin ETFs differently from futures-based ETFs. The court’s decision is a significant development in the long-running battle over spot Bitcoin ETFs.
It is not a guarantee that the SEC will approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, but it puts the SEC in a difficult spot. The SEC could either appeal the court’s decision or approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.
If the SEC appeals the decision, it is likely to face an uphill battle. The court’s decision was well-reasoned and supported by the evidence. If the SEC fails to appeal the decision, it is likely to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF in the near future. The SEC has been under pressure from Congress and the cryptocurrency industry to approve a spot Bitcoin ETF.
The court’s decision has removed one of the SEC’s main justifications for denying spot Bitcoin ETF applications. The greenlighting of a spot Bitcoin ETF would constitute a significant milestone within the cryptocurrency sector.
However, GBTC is not a spot ETF. It is a trust that holds Bitcoin. This means that GBTC is subject to a premium or discount to the underlying Bitcoin price. A spot Bitcoin ETF would not be subject to this premium or discount.
The approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF would be a positive development for the cryptocurrency industry. It would make Bitcoin more accessible to investors and could help to drive its adoption. It would also be a major victory for Grayscale.
- Techcrunch: Grayscale’s legal head says bitcoin spot ETF approval is a ‘matter of when, not if’ | TechCrunch[↩]
