Grayscale’s ETF deadline set for midnight

Eleanor Terrett, a Fox Business journalist, shared a post on X reminding the public that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has until midnight to appeal the Grayscale bid for a spot Bitcoin ETF.

If they don’t, then in one week, the case will be closed, and Grayscale can move forward in the approval process.

Getting the ball rolling

Today, Oct. 13, is the day the SEC must make a decision in response to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling. Either the regulatory body must file an appeal with the United States Supreme Court, formally petitioning the Appeals Court to reconsider its judgment, or abiding by the court’s directive issued in August. This directive stipulates a comprehensive assessment of Grayscale’s request to transform its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).

If no appeal is made, then Grayscale can start working with the SEC to continue the approval process, working with Corporation Finance and Trading and Markets.

On Oct. 12, Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas weighed in on the unfolding situation. In response to a query from a user identified as “X,” Balchunas expressed skepticism about the likelihood of an appeal from the SEC.

However, he acknowledged that there could still be additional challenges and complexities to navigate in the regulatory process.

Setting the stage

Even though all these filings were submitted to the regulator at the start of 2023, they have encountered persistent obstacles and resistance from the SEC. Consequently, the projected final approval dates for most of these applications have been pushed to March 2024 or later.

Therefore, the decision made about Grayscale may set a precedence for the fate of the rest of the spot Bitcoin ETFs.