Gary Gensler, the chairman of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), recently shared updates on Wednesday about the status of multiple applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) that the agency is reviewing.
Gensler’s Comments
In an interview with Bloomberg TV, Gensler said, “I’m not going to pre-judge… The staff is doing work on those multiple filings.”
Gensler declined to comment on the next steps in the regulator’s ongoing case against Grayscale Investments after it decided not to appeal a court ruling. He also wouldn’t say if the agency would potentially approve a single fund or wait to approve everything in a group.
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Gensler also emphasized the SEC’s “time-tested process” for reviewing exchange-traded products (ETPs), which he said goes back decades. He said that the staff of the SEC, which he called the Disclosure Review Team, responds and gives feedback to potential issuers.
Gensler noted:
“What we have in front of us, just so that the viewing public understands, we have not one, but multiple, I think it’s eight or ten filings that the staff, and ultimately the Commission, is considering. When an asset manager is seeking to take something public, these exchange-traded products need to register with the SEC, and they go through a filing, somewhat similar to going public, like an IPO.”
“And so it’s really the work of our Division of Corporation Finance that gives feedback, our Division of Trading and Markets of course looks at the filings. This is a time-tested process that goes back decades. The staff of the SEC, it’s called the Disclosure Review Team, but in that group, they respond and give feedback to potential issuers.”
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Gensler’s update is likely to be met with mixed reactions from the crypto community. On the one hand, the fact that the SEC is still reviewing the spot Bitcoin ETF applications suggests that there is a chance that they could be approved in the future. On the other hand, Gensler’s refusal to answer key questions about the approval process leaves investors in the dark about when and if a spot Bitcoin ETF could be approved.
One way to interpret Gensler’s update is that the SEC is still undecided about the merits of spot bitcoin ETFs. The agency is likely weighing a number of factors, including the potential benefits for investors, as well as the risks associated with such a product.
Another way is that the SEC is deliberately delaying the approval of spot bitcoin ETFs in order to give further time to the crypto industry to develop and mature. The SEC may also be concerned about the potential impact of a spot bitcoin ETF on the broader financial markets.
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