It seems like the US government watchdog isn’t going to be approving any of spot BTC ETFs soon.
Grayscale, a US-based asset manager, has recently started a war against the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), following its recent rejection of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to the official report, the SEC noted that it wouldn’t be converting Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a BTC exchange-traded fund (ETF) as it didn’t display how “fraudulent and manipulative acts” would be avoided.
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Craig Salm, Grayscale’s chief legal officer (CLO), implied that the SEC’s decision to reject its latest proposal wasn’t fair due to the fact that BTC futures ETFs are still being approved. Salm added that both spot BTC ETF and futures prices are based on the same Bitcoin markets, meaning that there shouldn’t be any difference between the two.
No matter what the SEC’s lawsuit dictates, Salm remains confident that in the two upcoming years Grayscale will eventually win the case in court.
Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale, also mentioned that the approval of the BTC ETF would provide access to a significant amount of money “of unrealized shareholder value.” He added:
“We were simply asking the SEC to hold this product to a higher standard, to give it greater investor protection and give greater risk disclosure for investors.”
According to some statistics, GBTC shares have recently traded at a discount of approximately 35%.
Following Grayscale’s legal challenge against the SEC, the players in the crypto world have also reacted to the lawsuit, mentioning that the agency’s decision to reject spot BTC ETF is “deeply disappointing.”
However, if Grayscale eventually loses the case, the firm will only be able to seek an "en banc" hearing or will have to appeal to the US Supreme Court and its decision.
Earlier in July, NY-based investment firm VanEck also refiled an application to roll out its spot BTC ETF despite the SEC rejecting it last year in November.
