The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) procrastinated its ruling on Grayscale’s pending application over Bitcoin’s exchange-traded funds (ETF) conversion proposal. The crypto asset management platform was seeking approval from SEC to convert its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a well-developed ETF. This conversion was due to the concerns over maneuvering, liquidity, and clarity.
However, the notice published by SEC on Friday, 4 February 2022, didn’t bring something different to the table as it relates to Grayscale’s pending application. In the long notice that was published, the SEC particularly asks for “written comments” from “interested persons” among the general public to explain their “views, data and arguments” referring to the regulator’s concerns of maneuvering, liquidity, and clarity.
The notice goes on to say that the public has 21 days from today, as mentioned in the Federal Register, to submit written data, views, and arguments on whether Grayscale’s application should be granted or denied, with a 35-day window for rebuttal. Additionally, Individuals interested in submitting comments to the SEC can do so either electronically or on paper, according to the notification.
In a tweet, Bloomberg Intelligence’s James Seyffart pointed out that Grayscale’s delay meant an ultimate ruling on the push will be made in early July. He said,
“Annnnndd here it is. The official SEC delay on $GBTC attempt to convert to a spot Bitcoin ETF. 100% expected. Final decision date for $GBTC will be on/around July 6th.”
SEC’s history of rejecting Grayscale’s spot ETF applications
Grayscale, the world’s largest digital asset management firm, filed an application in October to convert shares of its Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin ETF, aiming to reverse the regulator’s previous rejections of BTC spot ETF applications. However, the SEC stated two months later that it would be postponing its decision on Grayscale’s application, citing market fraud, manipulation, and transparency as major issues.
Grayscale has $36.5 billion of assets as of February 4th, according to a tweet, with its GBTC product accounting for almost 71% of total assets. At the time of writing, Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at $41,483.65 and was seen on the bull run of 9.45% over the last 24 hours.
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