Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF) could have faced an unfavorable outcome if not for the Grayscale appeal last year, according to SEC Commissioner Hester ‘Crypto Mom’ Peirce. In a statement on Jan.10, Peirce outlined that issuers have been trying to get a spot Bitcoin ETF approved for over a decade. This process could have been extended if not for “the DC Circuit-ex-machina.”
Peirce was referring to the U.S. District Court of Appeals overturning the SEC’s decision to deny Grayscale Investment’s spot Bitcoin ETF application in October 2023. The court ordered the SEC to review Grayscale’s application to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF again.
Reportedly, Peirce was among the three Commissioners who voted to approve the spot Bitcoin ETF. Gary Gensler and Mark Uyeda also reportedly approved the product, while Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizarraga did not support it.
Peirce criticized the SEC’s decision to approve 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications, stating it does not compensate for “the disparate treatment of spot bitcoin products.” She suggested that the regulator should have acknowledged its mistake in delaying the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs. “The Commission, rather than admitting error, offers a weak explanation for its change of heart,” she further stated.
She also noted that the regulator was caught off guard by the Grayscale ruling last year. “We squandered a decade of opportunities to do our job. If we had applied the standard we use for other commodity-based ETPs, we could have approved these products years ago, but we refused to do so until a court called our bluff.”
On Jan 10, the securities regulator approved the 19b-4 applications from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton. This approval allows a spot Bitcoin ETF to be listed and traded on the respective exchanges.
Following the approval, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart stated that it is likely the ETFs will be ready to trade on Jan. 11, given that the S-1 applications are “being checked off.”
This News Article was automatically generated by Bob the Bot (AI)
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Geography | North America |
| Countries | 🇺🇸 |
| Sentiment | neutral |
| Relevance Score | 1 |
| People | Mark Uyeda, Caroline Crenshaw, Hester Peirce, Jaime Lizarraga, Gary Gensler |
| Companies | Franklin Templeton, Grayscale Investments, ARK 21Shares, BlackRock, Bloomberg, Hashdex, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Bitwise, Valkyrie, Securities and Exchange Commission |
| Currencies | Bitcoin |
| Securities | Franklin Templeton, ARK 21Shares, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, BlackRock, Hashdex, VanEck, Invesco Galaxy, Bitwise, Fidelity, Valkyrie, WisdomTree |
