The much-anticipated decision on the spot Bitcoin ETF, which will have significant implications for the price of Bitcoin, was announced on Friday afternoon and, as expected, it was delayed. Nathan Geraci, who is crucial for the bull season as the biggest price catalyst, made important statements about the ETF approval.
Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Case
The decision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Friday regarding Ark Invest and 21Shares’ spot Bitcoin ETF application for further delay may not come as a surprise, but experts believe that an upcoming court decision will have significant consequences.
Nathan Geraci, the president of The ETF Store, a consulting firm, said that the final decision in Grayscale Investments’ lawsuit against the SEC, in which the company’s flagship fund GBTC‘s proposal to convert it into a spot Bitcoin ETF was rejected, could play a role. Grayscale presented its oral arguments in March and accused the SEC of contradicting itself by allowing Bitcoin futures ETFs but not similar spot Bitcoin products.
Attention on Spot Bitcoin ETF
Geraci stated that the SEC will wait for a final decision in the Grayscale case, which could come at any moment, and added that the decision could be in favor of the SEC. The latest statement from Grayscale suggested that a decision about the case will be made before the end of the year. There is a four-month period ahead, and the final approval dates for the current ETF applications are in January-March.
Geraci said:
“In this scenario, the SEC would have much more protection to continue rejecting spot Bitcoin ETFs. Why should they approve a spot Bitcoin ETF until they learn the outcome of this case? I think there is no reason to do so.”
Companies competing for a spot Bitcoin ETF since the beginning of the summer differentiated their applications from the ones that failed in the past and named Coinbase as a surveillance sharing partner to help alleviate regulators’ concerns about market manipulation.
With the recent delay decision, the SEC took action to seek further comments. The agency asked whether commentators believe that the exchange “demonstrates resistance to price manipulation in the Bitcoin market.”
The agency also added a section that partially quoted, “the exchange has a justification to abandon the necessary surveillance sharing agreement with a significantly regulated market related to spot Bitcoin to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices, which proves that Bitcoin is resistant to price manipulation.” Vivian Fang, a finance professor at Indiana University, said that this statement in the question indicates that the SEC may be warming up to the idea of approving a spot Bitcoin ETF.
“I can say that these are the biggest steps taken so far, and I am eagerly looking forward to seeing the first approved spot Bitcoin ETF this year.”
