Grayscale finds no basis for SEC to deny launch of bitcoin-ETF

Grayscale: SEC has no basis to refuse to convert the GBTC trust into a bitcoin-ETF

If there was any distinction between bitcoin-ETFs and futures products, it would have already been reflected in one of the regulator's rulings, the company said

Grayscale said in a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that the regulator has no basis for refusing to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) fund into a bitcoin-ETF, Coindesk reports.

On August 29, the court upheld Grayscale's lawsuit challenging the regulator's refusal to approve its application to launch a bitcoin-ETF. The company filed the lawsuit against the main U.S. exchange regulator back in 2021.

"We believe that once the SEC has had an opportunity to fully analyze the court's opinion in light of the record in this case, including the stated reasons for the denial <...>, the Commission should conclude that there is no basis for treating the trust differently than an exchange-traded fund investing in bitcoin futures contracts," Grayscale's legal team said in a letter to the regulator on Sept. 5.

Grayscale also noted that if there was any distinction between bitcoin-ETFs and futures products, "it would have already been reflected in one of the 15 Commission orders rejecting applications for spot bitcoin-ETFs under Form 19b-4 even after the launch of futures funds," the publication notes.

Earlier, Bernstein analysts said Grayscale's victory over the SEC "clears the way" for bitcoin-ETFs.