US Court issues mandate for Grayscale ruling, paving way for SEC to review spot Bitcoin ETF

The United States Court of Appeal has issued a mandate following a decision requiring Grayscale Investments application for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund to be reviewed by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). 

In an Oct. 23 filing in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the “formal mandate” of the court took effect, paving the way for the SEC to review its decision on Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded fund, or ETF. The mandate followed the court’s initial ruling on Aug. 29 and the SEC failing to present an appeal by Oct. 13.

Oct. 23 filing in U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Source: Courtlistener

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The Oct. 23 mandate reaffirmed the court’s Aug. 29 ruling, giving Grayscale a second bite at the apple in converting its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a listed BTC ETF. To date, the SEC has never approved a spot crypto ETF for listing on U.S. exchanges, but has given the green light to investment vehicles linked to BTC and Ether (ETH) futures.

On Oct. 19, Grayscale submitted a registration statement to the SEC to list shares of its Bitcoin Trust on the New York Stock Exchange Arca under the ticker symbol GBTC. The investment firm, along with major companies including BlackRock, ARK Investment, and Valkyrie have spot crypto ETF applications pending with the SEC.

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