The Morning Ledger: Grayscale Scores Win Over SEC; Bitcoin ETF Approval Ahead?
By Walden Siew
Good morning. For corporate chieftains monitoring the next phase of finance, a federal appeals court ruling could be worth noting. The court ruled that the Securities and Exchange Commission must reconsider crypto asset manager Grayscale Investments’ application to launch the first bitcoin exchange-traded fund, the latest setback for SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s efforts to regulate the upstart industry.
The agency had denied Grayscale’s application to convert its bitcoin trust, known as GBTC, into an ETF on the basis that spot markets for bitcoin are unregulated and subject to market manipulation.
“The denial of Grayscale’s proposal was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission failed to explain its different treatment of similar products,” Judge Neomi Rao wrote on behalf of the court, noting that the SEC has approved bitcoin futures ETFs. The ruling was unanimous in a panel of three judges, two of whom were appointed by Democrats.
Bitcoin-related assets surged on the news, which traders were betting would pave the way for broad investor adoption of ETFs backed by bitcoin rather than futures. Shares of Coinbase Global, the largest publicly traded crypto exchange, rose almost 15%.
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The Wall Street Journal's CFO Journal offers corporate leaders and professionals CFO analysis, advice and commentary to make informed decisions. We cover topics ranging from corporate tax, accounting, regulation, capital markets, management and strategy.
Follow us on X @WSJCFO. The WSJ CFO Journal Team is Kristin Broughton, Mark Maurer and Jennifer Williams-Alvarez. Bureau Chief Walden Siew can be reached at walden.siew@wsj.com, or you can reach us by replying to any newsletter.
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