SEC Chair: Grayscale’s court ruling impacted spot Bitcoin ETF approval

• SEC Chairman disclosed that the court’s judgement in the Grayscale versus SEC case impact decision-making
• The chairman also took the opportunity to disapprove of the crypto market, yet again

The Chairman of the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) – Gary Gensler – has given a statement on the approval of all 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications. All the applications were approved on an accelerated basis minutes ago and all of them are expected to begin trading tomorrow.

Notably, in his statement, Gensler stated that, unlike previous rejections, there were some factors that resulted in the approval of all spot Bitcoin ETFs. A mention of the SEC versus Grayscale was made in the statement, hinting at the influence of the case on the approval decision. The statement read,

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the Commission failed to adequately explain its reasoning in disapproving the listing and trading of Grayscale’s proposed ETP (…) Based on these circumstances and those discussed more fully in the approval order, I feel the most sustainable path forward is to approve the listing and trading of these spot bitcoin ETP shares.”

Grayscale – the American digital currency asset management firm – had taken the commission to court after it rejected its appeal to convert its GBTC to a spot Bitcoin ETF. After a heated court battle, the court ruled that the commission did not have proper grounds for its rejection and the judge asked the commission to revisit its decision.

Yes to spot Bitcoin ETF is not a yes to crypto

Despite the admission of defeat, the SEC Chairman has not changed his stance on the cryptocurrency market or Bitcoin. The chairman has stated that the approval should “in no way signal the Commission’s willingness to approve listing standards for crypto asset securities.” He further added:

“Nor does the approval signal anything about the Commission’s views as to the status of other crypto assets under the federal securities laws or about the current state of non-compliance of certain crypto asset market participants with the federal securities laws. As I’ve said (…) vast majority of crypto assets are investment contracts and thus subject to the federal securities laws”

Notably, Chairman Gensler has been actively vocal about the ‘dangers’ of the crypto market even before the approval announcement. The Chairman made two tweets on his official X account earlier this week about the crypto market. Both tweets warned users about the downside of investing in cryptocurrencies. One Tweet read,

If you’re considering an investment involving crypto assets, be cautious.

Crypto asset securities may be marketed as new opportunities but there are serious risks involved.

Read @SEC_Investor_Ed‘s Director Take:

— Gary Gensler (@GaryGensler) January 9, 2024