According to our sources, Greyscale Investments, the world’s largest asset manager of digital currencies announced today,
Greyscale’s Senior Legal Strategist, former U.S. Solicitor General, and partner at Munger, Tolles & Olson, Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., filed a petition for review with the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of Grayscale — challenging the decision by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to deny conversion of Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (BTC) (OTCQX: GBTC) to a spot Bitcoin ETF*.
The news of the denial of the Spot BTC ETF is a major disappointment to many crypto enthusiasts who have been hopefully anticipating the upcoming decision. Greyscale representatives released the following:
“Grayscale supports and believes in the SEC’s mandate to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets and facilitate capital formation — and we are deeply disappointed by and vehemently disagree with the SEC’s decision to continue to deny spot Bitcoin ETFs from coming to the U.S. market,” said Michael Sonnenshein, Grayscale’s CEO. “Through the ETF application review process, we believe American investors overwhelmingly voiced a desire to see GBTC convert to a spot Bitcoin ETF, which would unlock billions of dollars of investor capital while bringing the world’s largest Bitcoin fund further into the U.S. regulatory perimeter. We will continue to leverage the full resources of the firm to advocate for our investors and the equitable regulatory treatment of Bitcoin investment vehicles.”
Perhaps there will be more opportunity for even handed and informed decisions regarding spot crypto ETFs if the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), is mandated as the overseers of crypto assets. The idea of CFTC oversight of crypto assets was addressed at the recent House of Representatives’ hearing on The Future of Crypto Assets Regulation, where formal inquiries were made as to the CFTC’s ability to be the stewards of the industry.
The crypto industry seems eager for a crypto spot ETF according to both, my research, as well as that of Grayscale themselves:
Grayscale’s comment letter campaign during the 240-day review period resulted in record-breaking 11,400+ total submissions to the SEC, with over99.0 percent demonstrating support for the conversion.
Greyscale’s track record and deep expertise as the world’s largest digital currency asset manager is undeniable. They offer investors access to the digital economy through a family of secure, regulated, and future-forward investment products. Greyscale is a tried and true pillar, having been founded in 2013.
For more information, please follow @Grayscale or visit grayscale.com.
