SEC weighing Bitcoin ETF applications, says Gary Gensler

• Several applicants have recently submitted amended filings for their spot Bitcoin ETF.
• Gensler, however, didn’t comment on the Grayscale court case.

Gary Gensler, the Chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said the regulatory body was reviewing multiple Bitcoin [BTC] spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications.

The SEC Chair made the confirmation, while speaking to Bloomberg’s Kailey Leinz. He said there is a long-standing review process involving multiple ETF filings.

Gensler added that applicants must ensure that they go through a filing process that is similar to a public offering. He also said that the SEC staff responded and provided feedback to potential issuers.

However, he did not comment on whether the regulatory body would potentially approve one ETF or wait to approve everything in the group if such approval is received.

Gensler, moreover, remained tight-lipped on the Grayscale Investments court case.

In August, the court ruled that the regulator’s decision to reject Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application was “arbitrary and capricious”. It emerged last week that the regulator had decided not to contest the judgment. The SEC now needs to revisit its decision.

James Seyffart reacted to the interview on X (formerly Twitter), calling most of Gensler’s responses “non-answers.”

Here’s a short clip of @kaileyleinz asking Gensler about $GBTC and other spot #Bitcoin ETFs. Mostly non-answers in my opinion but does talk about the disclosure review team. We’ve had some insight into their process via the amendments from some of these filers in recent days pic.twitter.com/lIWZc74OAi

— James Seyffart (@JSeyff) October 18, 2023

Prominent lawyer Scott Johnsson speculated that Gensler’s not commenting on the Grayscale filing underlined the “ongoing fight behind the scenes.” The applicant’s lawyers might be using the recent judgment as leverage.

Since the court deemed the SEC’s order unlawful, there was no need to file again, the lawyers must have argued. On the other hand, the SEC might have been asking Grayscale to submit an amended filing.

Now, I ultimately don’t know where this ends up, but I suspect strongly Grayscale is using this as a point of leverage in discussions with the SEC (probably this week). And the SEC likely requesting they refile.

— Scott Johnsson (@SGJohnsson) October 18, 2023

Other applicants have recently submitted amended filings for their spot Bitcoin ETF.

Leading asset manager Fidelity recently submitted an amended proposal early this week. Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest and Invesco Galaxy also submitted their amended proposals last week.

The SEC has approved a number of Bitcoin futures ETFs since 2021. However, it is yet to approve any spot Bitcoin ETF.