Of the many stakeholders involved in the race to secure approval for the spot Bitcoin Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) in the US, industry leaders are particularly praising the effort of Grayscale Investments.
Though many are celebrating the historic milestone on record in the US, the 11 asset management firms that fought for this product are considered the biggest winners. Of these, Grayscale Investments paved the way for the product through a hard and well-fought legal battle.
Coinbase’s executives, including CEO Brian Armstrong and Chief Legal Officer Paul Grewal, noted that the Michael Sonnenshein team “deserves a huge amount of credit” for their role in making spot Bitcoin ETF a reality.
.@Grayscale deserves a huge amount of credit for today, pushing this through the courts
Absolute legends https://t.co/fWZzg0QskU
— Brian Armstrong ?️ (@brian_armstrong) January 11, 2024
The Tough Grayscale Bitcoin ETF Journey
It all started in October 2021 when Grayscale Investments applied with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to a full-fledged spot Bitcoin ETF.
As it has historically done until that time, the regulator denied the firm’s request, forcing the firm to drag the case to court. To prepare itself for victory, Grayscale hired new lawyers, including Donald B. Verrilli, a Solicitor who served under former President Barack Obama.
The bolstered legal team scored a victory last August when Judge Sri Srinivasan of the Appeals Court ruled that the SEC’s rejection is “arbitrary and capricious” thus ordering a review of the decision. The SEC failed to appeal as expected, giving the first glimpse of hope that a possible turnaround is around the corner.
In the weeks leading up to the official approval, Grayscale also made some sacrifices, including the stepping down of its former Chairman Barry Silbert and the forced embrace of the SEC’s Cash Creates model to position itself properly for the approvals
Acknowledging the DC Circuit
While the doggedness of Grayscale Investments is on record, Paul Grewal also hailed the DC Circuit Court for letting the rule of law prevail over politics.
He believed the bold ruling was what made the difference that now gives Americans access to embrace digital currencies through regulated products. Grewal noted that the industry has always been clamoring for proper regulation.
With the approval for the spot Bitcoin ETFs, trading will commence any time from now. Bitcoin, the asset under the spotlight is up 5.31% in the past 24 hours to $47,835.98
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