A cryptocurrency asset manager Grayscale Investments has sent a letter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requesting the approval of all proposed Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) simultaneously.
They want this because, in the past, Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF application was rejected by the SEC. They believe that approving all of them together will avoid giving any one ETF an advantage over the others.
Grayscale said, “An approval that promotes investor protection and fairness for issuers should therefore be made simultaneously with approval of all proposed spot bitcoin ETPs, including those such as the Trust whose Rule 19b-4 filings were previously disapproved after lengthy Commission consideration.”
Grayscale’s argument is that the SEC should treat all the ETFs fairly and not favor some over others. They point out that spot Bitcoin ETFs, which directly follow the price of Bitcoin, are closely related to Bitcoin futures ETFs, which the SEC has already approved.
Recently, some ETF filings included agreements with Coinbase to help the SEC monitor market manipulation. Grayscale disagrees, stating these agreements won’t meet the SEC’s standards as Coinbase isn’t registered as a securities exchange or broker-dealer with the SEC.
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Grayscale’s request for the simultaneous approval of all proposed Bitcoin ETFs by the SEC seems reasonable and could promote fairness and equal opportunities among ETF issuers.