U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again delayed its decision to approve Grayscales Bitcoin (BTC) trading fund (ETF) application, citing known concerns about manipulation, liquidity and transparency.
In a statement released Friday afternoon, the Securities and Exchange Commission expressed concern about how the digital asset manager plans to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot ETF. The regulator was not convinced that Grayscale’s proposal was designed to prevent fraud and alleged manipulation of the bitcoin market. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has invited the public to comment on these matters, giving interested parties 21 days to respond in writing.
As Cointelegraph reported, Grayscales’ first application to convert GBTC shares to bitcoin spot ETFs was filed with the SEC in October. Less than two months later, the securities regulator announced that it would postpone the decision to implement Grayscale and a similar proposal from Bitwise.
Grayscale is the world’s largest digital asset management company with $ 36.5 billion in assets as of February 4. The GBTC product accounts for over 71% of its total assets.
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While the SEC is reluctant to approve Bitcoin ETFs, the regulator is more receptive to futures-related products. In October, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF became the first Bitcoin futures fund to be approved in the United States. Shortly after, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved a pair of strategic Bitcoin-related ETFs from Valkyrie and VanEck.
