SEC’s Gensler Remains Tight-Lipped on Bitcoin ETF Strategy Following Grayscale Verdict – A Closer Look

SEC chairman Gary Gensler is maintaining his silence on the way forward regarding a spot Bitcoin ETF’s potential approval for public market trading, even with growing expectations to give it the green light.

After the Court of Appeals directed the SEC to assess Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF proposal, Gensler remained non-committal on the agency’s intended actions. Grayscale is at the helm of the most substantial Bitcoin fund globally, with aspirations to transition it into a spot ETF as soon as possible.

Commenting on the matter at a Securities Enforcement Forum in Washington, Gensler mentioned, “Those are things that are in front of staff,” as reported by CoinDesk. He expressed his intention to “let that play out” and steer clear of making premature judgments until the SEC staff presents their suggestions to him and the commission.

Gensler remained ambiguous when quizzed about the sequence in which the SEC might address comparable requests.

Currently, the SEC is evaluating around a dozen almost identical spot Bitcoin ETF proposals. These submissions come from major fund managers like BlackRock, Fidelity, Franklin Templeton, and more.

Following Monday’s court directive, Grayscale made its official comeback into this crowded field. This decision came on the heels of its August legal triumph over the SEC, which the regulatory body chose not to contest.

This win has ignited optimism in the market regarding a possible approval of a spot ETF. This is evident as Grayscale’s GBTC share discount has shrunk to 14%, and Bitcoin has hit an annual peak, trading at $35,000 this week.

Apart from this, the SEC is engrossed in a case against Ripple concerning the institutional sale of XRP, aiming to impose a hefty $770 million penalty on the firm for allegedly selling unregistered securities of XRP. Interestingly, earlier in the month, the SEC rescinded similar allegations against Ripple’s founding members.

The SEC’s legal battles also extend to crypto exchanges like Coinbase and Binance, both accused of purported securities law breaches.

Gensler commented on these cases, stating, “I’m going to let each of these crypto exchange cases speak for themselves, and they’re in front of jurists,” indicating a hands-off approach as the cases proceed.

Addressing the audience at the forum, Gensler delivered a discourse on SEC enforcement, sprinkled with critiques of the crypto sector, which he believes is plagued by “non-compliance.”

In a Q&A session, he remarked, “We have a $110 trillion capital market,” contrasting it with the global crypto market’s estimated value and highlighting that it constitutes less than one percent of U.S. capital markets.