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Grayscale Tries to Wrestle SEC Into Spot Bitcoin ETF Approval

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The world’s largest crypto asset fund manager, Grayscale, has ramped up its efforts against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission which still refuses to approve a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

On Oct. 11, Grayscale announced that it had filed its opening legal brief in the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The appeal challenges the decision by the SEC to deny the conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust fund (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

The fund conversion was denied by the SEC in late June as Grayscale, investors, and industry experts have been collating evidence supporting its approval. Before the rejection, the SEC allowed feedback and comments on the proposed conversion, the majority of which were overwhelmingly in favor. However, the regulator paid them no heed.  

According to the brief, the regulator’s disparate treatment of these products was “arbitrary, discriminatory, and in excess of the Commission’s statutory authority.”

SEC ‘inconsistent’ on Bitcoin ETF approvals

It also argues that the test the SEC applies to Bitcoin-related ETFs has been “inconsistently applied with a “special harshness” to spot Bitcoin ETFs.” The regulator has already approved a number of Bitcoin futures ETFs, which are backed by futures contracts instead of a physical asset.

The test is flawed, according to Grayscale, as it doesn’t achieve the intended effect of protecting investors against potential fraud and manipulation since this can happen in futures markets as well as spot markets.

The firm claims that its proposal to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin ETF into a spot Bitcoin ETF satisfies legal requirements because
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