Grayscale threatens legal steps when the SEC rejects the Bitcoin ETF conversion offer

Grayscale threatens legal steps when the SEC rejects the Bitcoin ETF conversion offer

  • Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein said that the issuer does not exclude options when converting GBTC
  • The SEC has been rejected Bitcoin-Spot-ETF applications for years, but Grayscale is confident that the approval will come at some point

Grayscale does not rule out legal steps against the Securities and Exchange Commission if the authority continues to prohibit the introduction of a spot cryptocurrency ETF, said CEO Michael Sonnenshein.

"I think all options are on the table," said Sonnenhein during a Interview With Bloomberg on Monday when asked whether Grayscale would consider a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act if your application for conversion of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into an ETF would be rejected.

The world's largest asset manager for digital currencies for the first time in April 2021 applied for the conversion of its flagship trust, which is inferior to the currently banned Spot-Bitcoin ETF structure, said Sonnenhein. Since then, the SEC has approved the first futures-supported Bitcoin fund, but all applications for a spot product continue to be delayed.

"The Grayscale team has put the entire resources of our company into the conversion of our flagship fund GBTC into an ETF," said Sonnenhein. "It is really important that investors know that we have campaigned for them and will continue to use."

The SEC is currently asking for a public statement to see whether a Bitcoin spot ETF should be approved. The regulatory authority has given issuers, investors and other interested parties 240 days to submit contributions; The deadline ends in early July.

grayscale has encouraged investors to submit comments and even created an educational page and an email form website .

"This is a really, really important part of the process," said Sonnenhein.

"GBTC is now owned by investors in all 50 states, and in fact there are now over 800,000 accounts in the United States, all of which are patiently waiting for it to be converted into an ETF."

The SEC has mentioned concern about market manipulation as the main obstacle to the approval of a cash product.

"When checking Bitcoin-Spot-ETPS, the Commission must apply all standards of the Börsengesetz, which it followed in connection with their orders, taking into account previous suggestions for the listing of Bitcoin-Spot-ETPs", SEC chairman Gary Gensler recently wrote in a statement letter .

"In particular, the Commission has to check whether the Bitcoin-Spot ETP proposal should prevent fraudulent and manipulative actions and practices."

Despite the lengthy regulatory process, Sonnenshein insisted that the Grayscale team remains confident that the conversion into an ETF will be carried out at some point.

"Ultimately, we believe that it matters when it is not whether a spot bitcoin ETF is approved," he said.


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The Grayscale contribution threatens to legal steps if the SEC rejects the Bitcoin ETF conversion offer is not a financial advice.