United States Securities and Trade Fee (SEC) chair Gary Gensler has hinted that the regulator has been rethinking its method to identify Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded merchandise following a current Grayscale courtroom choice.
Talking to CNBC on Dec. 14, Gensler was questioned concerning the lengthy checklist of pending spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) purposes. He mentioned the SEC has “between eight and a dozen filings” going by the method in the mean time.
“We had previously denied various these purposes,” he mentioned earlier than including that the courts have weighed in on that. What adopted was an announcement suggesting that the company could possibly be altering its tack on Bitcoin:
“So we’re taking a brand new take a look at this based mostly upon these courtroom rulings.”
Information anchor Sara Eisen requested whether or not he was referring to Grayscale. Nevertheless, Gensler evaded the query, stating that every thing on the SEC is completed “inside the legal guidelines Congress has handed and the way the courts interpret them.”
In August, a federal decide overturned the SEC’s choice to disclaim an ETF providing from Grayscale Investments by its Bitcoin belief.
A number of giant asset managers, together with BlackRock, Constancy, Grayscale, Invesco and Galaxy, VanEck and Valkyrie, are now in the race to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. All applications have been delayed, but some analysts are confident that a batch approval will occur in early January 2024.
Related: Bitcoin ETF applicants will have to ‘bend the knee’ on cash redemption model
In a separate interview with Bloomberg’s Kailey Leinz on Dec. 14, Gensler also sidestepped questions regarding the number of filings for spot Bitcoin products. Instead, he spoke about recent changes to the U.S. treasury market as the focus of the agency’s priorities.
In response to Gensler’s interview, U.S. Representative Bryan Steil commented on X (formerly Twitter):
“Chair Gary Gensler obfuscates on crypto with the press like he does at committee hearings. He does not want to explain his agency’s aggressive regulatory approach which is pushing crypto offshore.”
“Gensler very rarely gives clear answers! He’s a master at hedging his words,” opined Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart.
Chair @GaryGensler obfuscates on crypto with the press like he does at committee hearings. He doesn’t wish to clarify his company’s aggressive regulatory method which is pushing crypto offshore. https://t.co/YdQFN42jmK
— Bryan Steil (@RepBryanSteil) December 13, 2023
Journal: Crypto regulation: Does SEC Chair Gary Gensler have the ultimate say?