Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), spoke with Bloomberg about several pending spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs October 18th.
In his interview, Gensler acknowledged that approximately ten Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) proposals are currently awaiting a decision from SEC staff.
He noted that he personally cannot pre-empt these proposals and declined to comment on widespread suggestions that the SEC could approve multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs at once. However, he confirmed that the SEC is currently working on “multiple filings” and said several departments are providing feedback to issuers.
When asked whether discussions between ETF issuers and the SEC have been productive, Gensler declined to provide details about those conversations. He called the established approach merely a “proven process” that has been around for decades.
Gensler comments on grayscale
Gensler also addressed recent developments regarding Grayscale’s efforts to convert its GBTC fund into a Bitcoin spot ETF before commenting on ETFs in general. Grayscale was granted the right to have its application reviewed in court by the SEC in August.
The SEC was allowed to appeal the court’s decision by October 13, but the agency apparently declined to do so because no filings were received. Gensler confirmed this in the interview, saying, “We didn’t file an appeal last Friday… I think that’s right.” He declined to say whether Grayscale’s legislation is still pending and did not comment further on the matter.
Even if the SEC is forced to review Grayscale’s application, the agency would not have to approve the proposed fund. Furthermore, any decision applicable to Grayscale’s proposal will not necessarily apply to other spot Bitcoin ETF proposals.
Gensler’s comments come two days after an inaccurate report suggesting that the SEC had approved BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF proposal attracted attention on social media. Although the rumor turned out to be inaccurate, Bitcoin’s price rose above $30,000 as the misinformation spread before returning to previous levels.
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