U.S. SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce issued a statement on the official website saying that more than ten years after the first Bitcoin spot ETP application was submitted, the SEC has finally approved multiple applications for the listing and trading of Bitcoin spot ETPs. This approval was achieved following the intervention of the D.C. Circuit Court (Grayscale decision).
Peirce pointed out that the approval process for Bitcoin-related ETPs is significantly different from other ETPs routinely approved over the past decade, resulting in the long-term rejection of such applications. The SEC had rejected the application on the grounds that the Bitcoin market was still immature and there were manipulation concerns. But now, the SEC pointed out in its approval order that due to the high correlation between Bitcoin futures market and spot market prices over the past two and a half years, it has proven means to prevent fraud and manipulation. Peirce criticized the SEC's previous rejection of these applications, which resulted in a loss of public trust, diverted limited staff resources, and confused people's understanding of the SEC's role.
Still, this approval does not undo the numerous damages caused by unfair treatment of Bitcoin spot products. But Peirce also celebrated the right of U.S. investors to express their views on Bitcoin through buying and selling Bitcoin spot ETPs, and the perseverance market participants have shown to launch products they think investors want.