SEC Has Received 200 Letters On Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF

The U.S. Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) has obtained an inflow of letters on the potential approval of Grayscale’s upcoming Bitcoin spot ETF, a choice that’s nonetheless pending.

Traders Enter Dialogue with SEC

The SEC has obtained 198 letters on the subject of Grayscale’s spot ETF since October 2021. Most of these letters arrived this month: in February alone, the Fee has obtained 184 letters.

The expansion in messages this month is probably going because of better consciousness of the difficulty on social media. The SEC solicited remark publicly on Feb. 1, and Grayscale tweeted on the matter on Feb. 10.

The letters on file are numerous and have been despatched by particular person residents, nameless commenters, engineers, monetary advisors, attorneys, professors, and company leaders.

Some write in favor of Grayscale’s proposal, arguing {that a} Bitcoin ETF would assist develop the crypto market and create extra regulated funding choices. Others argue towards such a plan, even opposing cryptocurrency’s use normally.

Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein advised Bloomberg that “numerous the letters have been echoing what we at Grayscale have been articulating for fairly a while and proceed to take action as we speak—that buyers have been affected person and deserve a spot Bitcoin ETF.”

SEC Has Not But Authorized Spot ETFs

The SEC has not but authorised a Bitcoin spot ETF and has repeatedly rejected purposes with that aim. Most not too long ago, it rejected purposes from Constancy, WisdomTree, and VanEck.

Other than those that have commented to the SEC on their public discussion board, many others have expressed their views on the SEC’s obvious unwillingness to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF.

Minnesota Congressman Tom Emmer wrote a letter final November to the SEC. This week, SEC chair Gary Gensler responded, echoing issues over fraud and manipulation beforehand talked about by regulators. Gensler did, nevertheless, write that “cautious consideration” can be given to Emmer’s factors going ahead.

Grayscale additionally has beforehand expressed its disapproval of the SEC rejecting Bitcoin spot ETFs, whereas approving futures ETFs. Regardless of this, the agency has not been prevented from launching different crypto-centered ETFs, reminiscent of its newly launched Way forward for Finance fund.

The SEC has additionally authorised Bitcoin futures ETFs, however these funds don’t observe Bitcoin’s market worth straight. As such, a Bitcoin spot ETF can be a serious milestone for the crypto business.

Disclosure: On the time of writing, the creator of this piece owned BTC, ETH, and a number of other different cryptocurrencies.