- Grayscale Investments has argued that the SEC has no grounds to reject its bid to convert the GBTC fund to a spot Bitcoin ETF.
- The SEC has less than 45 days to appeal last week’s ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.
After Judge Neomi Rao from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) should review the application by DCG-backed Grayscale Investments to convert its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF) with the same principles as a Futures ETP, the company has now written a letter urging the agency to approve its application due to lack of merits.
According to a letter that Grayscale sent to the SEC on Tuesday, the agency has no more reasons to deny investors a regulated channel to access the Bitcoin market through ETFs. In the letter, Grayscale’s legal team noted
After the Commission has had the opportunity to fully analyze the court’s opinion in light of the record, including the reasons for rejection set forth … we believe the Commission should conclude that there are no grounds for treating the Trust differently from ETPs that invest in bitcoin futures contracts.
Moreover, Grayscale lawyers argued that the same grounds used to approve a Bitcoin futures ETP should be reciprocated to the pending ETF applications. Nonetheless, the SEC has a small window of coming up with other reasons for denying the approval of Bitcoin ETFs other than price manipulations and money laundering claims.
$GBTC is ready to operate as a #bitcoinETF upon regulatory approval, and Grayscale looks forward to further constructive engagement with the SEC. Find out more on our website: https://t.co/0vKXOQGcec (3/3)
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) September 5, 2023
Crypto Market Outlook If The SEC Gives In and Approves Bitcoin ETF
The cryptocurrency market has a total valuation of about $1 trillion, which is still way undervalued compared to tech companies like Apple and Microsoft which have a combined valuation of about $4 trillion. Bitcoin continued to hover around a market capitalization of approximately $501 billion and a 24-hour average traded volume of approximately $10 billion. With about 420 million people around the world investors in the cryptocurrency market, the approval of Bitcoin ETFs in the United States is expected to be a huge turning point.
Essentially, every spot Bitcoin ETF that is approved will be backed at a ratio of 1:1 with on-chain BTC assets. With huge institutional funds expected to proliferate the Bitcoin market after the ETF approval, crypto experts believe the underlying price will rally beyond $100k by 2025.
With top fund managers expecting a Bitcoin ETF approval by the next six months, it is reported that some firms led by BlackRock have been purchasing the top coin through the crypto winter. Additionally, BlackRock has made significant investments in crypto-focused companies like USDC issuer Circle and Bitcoin mining firms. Moreover, the mainstream adoption of Bitcoin and other digital assets is imminent irrespective of government measures to slow down the process.
Many individuals don't realize that BlackRock would require actual Bitcoin to back their Spot ETF.
They might have already purchased their Bitcoin months ago when prices were lower.
Or, they could be deliberately driving down prices currently to establish a better buying… pic.twitter.com/dKW2awmcuL
— Crypto Rover (@rovercrc) September 5, 2023