Gary Gensler: The approval of Bitcoin spot ETF was mainly affected by the Grayscale ruling

U.S. SEC Chairman Gary Gensler’s official website released a statement on the approval of the Bitcoin spot ETF. The SEC committee today approved the listing and trading of some spot Bitcoin ETPs (including ETFs). From the beginning of Chairman Jay Clayton’s term in 2018 to March 2023, the SEC has rejected more than 20 trading rule filing applications for spot Bitcoin ETPs, including the document submitted by Grayscale to “consider converting the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust into an ETP.” However, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that the SEC failed to fully explain its reasons for not approving the listing and trading of Grayscale’s proposed ETP. Therefore, the court vacated the order against Grayscale and remanded the matter back to the SEC Commission for reconsideration. Based on these circumstances and those more fully discussed in the Approval Order, Gary Gensler believes that the most sustainable path forward is to approve the listing and trading of these Bitcoin spot ETPs. Gary Gensler once again emphasized that unlike the underlying assets in metal ETPs, which have consumer and industrial uses, Bitcoin is mainly a speculative, volatile asset that can be used for illegal activities, including ransomware, money laundering, sanctions evasion and Terrorist financing.