Greyscale and ‘DC Circuit-ex-machina’ Were Key to BTC ETF Validation: Crypto Mom
Spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) could have fared poorly today had it not been for grayscale appeals last year, SEC Commissioner Hester ‘Crypto Mom' Pearce said.
In a statement on Jan. 10, Peirce explained that the publishers have tried to find a Bitcoin ETF for more than ten years online, and that it can be extended well beyond the “DC circuit-former-machine”. “
Pearce was referring to the US District Court of Appeals overturning the SEC's decision to block Greyscale Investment's spot Bitcoin ETF filing in October 2023.
The court ordered the SEC to conduct a second review of Greyscale's application to convert the Greyscale Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Out: https://t.co/tgI9yE4i83
— Hester Peirce (@HesterPeirce) January 10, 2024
Pearce was reportedly one of three commissioners who voted to approve the spot Bitcoin ETF. Gary Gensler and Mark Uyeda have reportedly endorsed the production, while Caroline Crenshaw and Jaime Lizaraga have reportedly not.
NEW: @SECGov votes on $BTC Spot ETFs.
Here is the breakdown of the vote:
Gensler: ApprovedPeirce: ApprovedUyeda: Approved Crenshaw: Not Approved Lizarraga: Not Approved pic.twitter.com/LWcraQpoQF
— Eleanor Terrett (@EleanorTerrett) January 10, 2024
Pierce said the SEC's decision today to approve 11 spot Bitcoin ETF applications “doesn't compensate for the disparate treatment of spot bitcoin products.”
She suggested the regulator admit its mistake in delaying approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
“Instead of admitting fault, the commission offers a poor explanation for the change of heart,” she said.
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She also said the regulator was caught by the Grayscale ruling last year.
“We've wasted a decade of opportunities to do our job. If we had applied the same standards we used to other commodity-based ETFs, we could have approved these products years ago, but we refused to do so until a court called our bluff.”
On January 10, the securities regulator approved 19b-4 applications from ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, BlackRock, Grayscale, Bitwise, Hashdex and Franklin Templeton – approving rule changes that allow Bitcoin ETFs to be listed and traded on their respective exchanges.
Following the approval, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seifert said ETFs could be ready to trade on Jan. 11 as S-1 filings are “in progress.”
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