- Four US lawmakers have urged SEC Chair Gary Gensler to approve a Bitcoin ETF, citing Grayscale’s recent court victory as support for their argument
- They argue that the SEC’s current stance on spot Bitcoin ETFs is “untenable” in light of the court’s decision
- Despite the appeal, the SEC postponed decisions on two Bitcoin ETF applications on the same day, indicating the agency’s reluctance to approve such products
Four US lawmakers have written to Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair Gary Gensler to urge him to approve a Bitcoin ETF, claiming that he was discriminating against the companies looking to launch one. The foursome used the recent ruling against the SEC in the lawsuit filed against it by Grayscale as the fulcrum of their argument, saying that there is “no reason to continue to deny such applications”. The same this letter was filed, the SEC postponed a decision on two Bitcoin ETF applications, showing that the appeal may fall on deaf ears.
SEC’s Position is “Untenable”
The letter to Gensler was sent by US Representatives Mike Flood, Wiley Nickel, Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres, who reminded the Chair that the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last month upheld Grayscale’s position that the SEC violated the Administrative Procedures Act when it denied Grayscale’s application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust to a spot Bitcoin ETF.
They noted that the decision “underscores the fundamental point”: that a spot Bitcoin ETF is “indistinguishable” from the types of Bitcoin futures ETFs that the SEC has allowed. This, the lawmakers say, makes the SEC’s current posture over spot ETFs “untenable moving forward.”
ETFs Get Postponed Regardless
Ironically, the letter arrived on the very day that the SEC kicked the can down the road on two existing Bitcoin ETF applications; GlobalX’s application, for which a response was expected on October 7, and the Ark/21Shares application, which wasn’t due until November 11.
It’s unlikely, however, that the letter would have made a blind bit of difference, with the SEC seemingly determined to prevent a Bitcoin ETF for as long as it possibly can, or unless legally forced to do so.
