Coinspeaker
Pressure Mounts on SEC’s Gensler as US House Lawmakers Request ‘Immediate’ Approval of Spot Bitcoin ETF
The crypto industry is rife with anticipation for the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. However, the extended clamor may now have the right backing as four members of the House Financial Services Committee – two from each party – have just written a letter to that effect.
In the Tuesday letter obtained by Coinspeaker, the lawmakers – including Rep. Tom Emmer, the majority whip in the House leadership – are calling out SEC Chair Gary Gensler for urgent ETF action.
They noted that it is expedient that the agency listen to the court. That is about a recent court order that overturned the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF application.
The lawmakers have warned that the regulator can only stop blocking such applications from regulatory approval for so long. Hence, the right thing to do is for Gensler to move forward with the approvals, the letter suggests.
The bipartisan group of lawmakers also wrote that once Gensler does the needful, they’ll then be able to ask him all about it at a hearing later today.
What Is Stopping Spot Bitcoin ETF Approvals?
In the letter, the lawmakers appear to be curious about the reason behind the SEC’s rigid stance on spot ETFs. And for what it’s worth, the regulator has not clearly stated any ‘tangible’ reasons either.
In line with this curiosity, they ask how the crypto futures ETFs that the agency already approved are any different from spot ETFs. So, since the agency has failed to establish any distinguishable features, the lawmakers ask that Gensler immediately sign off on the pending applications. This includes those from Fidelity, BlackRock’s iShares and Grayscale Investments, and others.
Bitcoin ETFs provide an easy way for investors to put their funds into the cryptocurrency market. That is because of the way they are designed in such a way that one may simply trade them through brokerage accounts.
