Crypto traders are eagerly awaiting a ruling on the Grayscale Trust vs SEC case, which may require the SEC to re-review the application for a spot Bitcoin ETF, potentially leading to a 240-day delay.
The US Court of Appeals has once again delayed its decision on whether Grayscale can convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF), causing uncertainty and leaving investors waiting for clarity.
Bitcoin (BTC) surged to near two-week highs after news broke that Grayscale won a lawsuit against U.S. regulators, with the court ruling that the SEC was wrong to reject Grayscale's Bitcoin ETF application.
The crypto markets experienced their largest outflows since March, with digital assets losing $168 million last week, primarily due to negative sentiment surrounding the delay in the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF in the US by the SEC. However, Grayscale won its lawsuit against the SEC, which rejected its ETF application, and while BTC took the brunt of the outflows, other altcoin products saw some inflows.
Prominent crypto YouTuber Ben Armstrong has been fired from Bitboy Crypto for financial damage and substance abuse, according to an announcement made by the company.
Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenshein believes that the recent court decision in favor of Grayscale could lead to a new and unprecedented environment for cryptocurrencies, potentially expanding mainstream acceptance of digital assets and boosting the chances for other asset managers to win approval for their bitcoin products.
Bitcoin led the cryptocurrency market higher following Grayscale's victory in the lawsuit against the SEC, but analysts caution that the victory does not guarantee the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Bitcoin pulled back from its all-time high above $28,000 as investors analyzed the implications of Grayscale's court victory against the SEC, with the cryptocurrency dropping 2% to $27,240, while Ether decreased 1.7% to just above $1,700, leading to a decline in the broader crypto market.
Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy praised Grayscale's victory over the SEC, stating that the decision will help keep Bitcoin and blockchain innovation within the United States, and he promised to rescind federal regulations that fail the Supreme Court's test, potentially limiting the SEC's influence.
Grayscale achieves a victory against the SEC, Evergrande's bankruptcy could negatively impact risk-on assets, and the 16 trillion PEPE tokens reportedly stolen raise concerns over rug-pulled altcoins, according to The Market Report.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) may have suffered setbacks in its regulation-by-enforcement approach to the cryptocurrency industry, with the latest ruling in favor of Grayscale Investments potentially paving the way for the emergence of a bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF); however, the SEC could appeal the decision or find new ways to deny similar applications, and the lack of a regulated exchange for the bitcoin spot market remains a challenge. Despite court challenges, SEC Chair Gary Gensler is expected to continue pursuing his regulation tactics, while Congress and a potential Republican president in 2024 may play a role in shaping the regulatory environment for digital assets.
The Grayscale Bitcoin ETF decision is important for several reasons, as stated in an opinion piece by Daniel Kuhn from CoinDesk.
The SEC's denial of Grayscale's spot Bitcoin ETF application has been reviewed by a judge due to the SEC's failure to provide a coherent explanation, while the SEC also delayed verdicts on several Bitcoin spot market ETF applications, including BlackRock's, causing prices to rally; in other news, Circle's USDC stablecoin has experienced a significant decrease in market cap, SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce criticized the SEC's attempt to bring crypto exchanges under its jurisdiction, a lawsuit against Uniswap was dismissed by a New York judge, StarkWare zeroed all user balances on old wallets, Vivek Ramaswamy celebrated Grayscale's win over the SEC, the SEC delayed its verdict on multiple ETF applications including BlackRock's, and Chinese courts considered cryptocurrencies legal property protected by law.
