Grayscale Tries Again For A Bitcoin Spot ETF With The SEC

Grayscale tries again for a Bitcoin spot ETF with the SEC but the Securities and Exchange Commission so far approved only BTC futures ETFs as we reported in our Bitcoin news.

Grayscale renewed a month-long push to persuade the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the converting of the crypto investment firm’s $40 billion BTC Trust into the exchange-traded fund. The ETF bundle securities like stocks or commodities allow investors to buy shares of the bundles without having to own the assets directly and there are two main types of Bitcoin ETFs, BTC futures and BTC spots that operate on the BTC current price.

Grayscale is looking to create the latter which is a Bitcoin Spot ETF and will be the first of its kind and though the SEC has approved four BTC futures ETFs, it hasn’t approved a single BTC spot ETF. Grayscale tries again for a Bitcoin spot ETF and in a letter sent to the SEC, the attorneys argued that the manner in which the regulatory agency approved the fourth BTC futures ETF, opened the door for a bitcoin spot eTF.

The attorneys argued the point that the first three BTC ETFs were approved by the SEC under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Teucrium ETF however got approved under the securities act of 1933which was a first and the SEC stated that the 1940 act offered investor protection which was not covered by the 1933 act. The implications are such because BTC Spot ETFs could not be filed via the 1940 act and offered insufficient investor protection.

As recently reported, The SEC hasn’t approved a Bitcoin spot ETF and Grayscale is trying to change that. Crypto investment company Grayscale was working for the most part of the year to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust which has over $28.5 billion in AUM into a Bitcoin-exchange traded fund. Standing in the way is the US SEC which has yet to approve any crypto spot ETF for US-based investors.

With the agency set to make a decision soon, the CEO Michael Sonnenshein said that Grayscale considers suing the SEC if the application is rejected. The Grayscale Bitcoin trust allows private investors to purchase shares in a pool of BTC so they can gain some price exposure to the asset without having to worry about custody.