- SEC Chair Gary Gensler has acknowledged that court actions have prompted a reconsideration of Bitcoin ETF approvals
- Gensler noted the District of Columbia’s ruling that Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application was frivolously denied.
- The next window for ETF approvals is in the first week of January
Gary Gensler, the much-criticized chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has admitted for the first time that the actions of the courts have prompted his office to reconsider approving a Bitcoin ETF. In an interview with CNBC, Gensler noted that the District of Columbia had “weighed in” on the agency’s rejections and, as a result, the SEC is taking “a new look” at the applications. This comes months after investing giants such as Blackrock and Fidelity filed for Bitcoin ETFs, a sign that the momentum was finally swinging toward institutions hoping to offer such services.
Grayscale Victory Has Lasting Impact
Gensler has not personally commented on the decision in August by the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to grant a petition from Grayscale to vacate the SEC’s dismissal of its Bitcoin ETF. In fact, the overall response has been crickets, with only leaked information on conversations going on behind the scenes with the SEC and various parties vying for a Bitcoin ETF.
The anti-crypto SEC Chair has now finally spoken out, however, addressing the potential of a Bitcoin ETF to CNBC:
…as you might know, we had in the past denied a number of these applications, but the courts here in the District of Columbia weighed in on that. And so we’re taking a new look at this based upon those court rulings.
It’s not clear yet who the favorites are for the prize of being the first to list a Bitcoin ETF, but the decision will likely be made in the first week of January, with the next window of potential ETF approvals being January 5-10.
