US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler has hinted that the regulator is rethinking its approach to Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded products following a recent gray court ruling.
Speaking to CNBC on December 14, Gensler was questioned about the long list of pending Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) orders. he He said The SEC has “between eight and a dozen filings” going through this process right now.
“We have in the past rejected a number of these requests,” he said, before adding that the courts had considered this. What followed was a statement indicating that the agency may be changing its stance on Bitcoin:
“So we’re taking a fresh look at this based on those court rulings.”
News anchor Sarah Eisen asked if he was referring to grayscale. However, Gensler dodged the question, noting that everything at the SEC is done “within the laws passed by Congress and how the courts interpret them.”
In August, a federal judge reversed the SEC’s decision to reject an ETF bid from Grayscale Investments for its Bitcoin fund.
Several large asset managers, including BlackRock, Fidelity, and Grayscale, Invesco, Galaxy, VanEck, and Valkyrie are now vying to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. All applications have been postponed, but some analysts are confident that approval of the batch will occur in early January 2024.
Related: Bitcoin ETF applicants will have to “bend over” the cashback model
In a separate interview with Bloomberg’s Kylie Lenz on December 14, Gensler also sidestepped questions about the number of orders placed for spot bitcoin products. Instead, he cited recent changes in the US Treasury market as the focus of the agency’s priorities.
In response to Gensler’s interview, American actor Brian Steele commented on X (formerly Twitter):
“Chairman Gary Gensler is as obfuscating cryptocurrencies with the press as he does in committee hearings. He doesn’t want to explain his agency’s aggressive regulatory approach that is pushing crypto overseas.”
“Gensler rarely gives clear answers! He’s adept at hedging his words,” said James Seyphart, a Bloomberg ETF analyst.
chair @Gary Gensler He obfuscates cryptocurrencies with the press as he does in committee hearings. He doesn’t want to explain his agency’s aggressive regulatory approach that is pushing cryptocurrencies overseas. https://t.co/YdQFN42jmK
– Brian Steele (@RepBryanSteil) December 13, 2023
Magazine: Cryptocurrency Regulation: Does SEC Chairman Gary Gensler Have the Final Say?
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