SEC Says its Refusal to Convert Grayscale’s GBTC into an ETF is Reasonable
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has refused to convert Grayscale Investments‘ GBTC trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF. The application was filed in October 2021. According the regulator, the decision is “reasonable and reasonably explained.”
The statement reads:
“The Commission has previously approved ETFs that are based on CME futures contracts registered with the CFTC; thus, the underlying assets of these funds are subject to strict supervision. The spot bitcoin market, by contrast, is fragmented and unregulated. The Complainant has not presented a strong case for the thesis that the CME’s oversight of futures trading would be sufficient to detect and deter fraud and manipulation in the spot market.”
The SEC believes there are no contradictions in its actions, since spot and futures ETFs are “fundamentally different products.”
The SEC approved the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF in October 2021, the same month it received the application from Grayscale.
