US Lawmakers Urge SEC’s Gensler to Approve Spot Bitcoin ETF “Immediately.”
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Four members of the House Financial Services Committee — including Rep. Tom Emmer, the majority leader in the House leadership — called on the SEC to move forward with approving ETF applications, and they can question him about it at a hearing this week.
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The industry is waiting for regulators to act after the SEC lost a court battle over its decision to reject Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.
On the eve of his scheduled appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, four members of that panel sent Gensler a letter claiming that a spot Bitcoin ETF is “indistinguishable” from the crypto futures ETFs for which the agency has already given its blessing. For this reason, the agency should approve applicants seeking SEC approval, such as: B. Fidelity, BlackRock’s iShares and Grayscale Investments.
“The SEC’s current stance is untenable going forward,” said the letter from Reps. Mike Flood (R-Neb.), Tom Emmer (R-Minn.), Wiley Nickel (DN.C.), and Ritchie Torres (DN.Y.). ”Under the appeals court’s decision, there is no reason to continue denying such applications based on inconsistent and discriminatory standards.”
Last month, a judge on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered the SEC to reconsider its opinion on these applications. District Judge Neomi Rao wrote that the agency’s denial in the Grayscale case was “arbitrary and capricious.”
House Democrats called on the SEC to “immediately” approve the pending applications. Gensler is scheduled to appear before the committee on Wednesday for a hearing on SEC oversight, giving members a chance to question him on the issue.
A Bitcoin ETF could offer investors a much easier way to put money into the cryptocurrency market because ETFs are designed to be easily traded in and out through brokerage accounts.
Emmer, who is a member of the House leadership as Majority Leader, Flood and Torres are members of the Congressional Blockchain Caucus in the House of Representatives.
