The SEC faces a Thursday deadline for at least one of the spot ether ETF applications under review.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — USA. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler declined on Thursday to look into his agency's decision on ether(ETH) exchange-traded funds (ETFs), although he advised observers to "stay tuned."
Although he reiterated that the court decision on ETFs had caused his agency to “pivot” in its thinking, when asked by CoinDesk on Thursday about what the agency was preparing to do in response to specific applications on this highly anticipated crypto decision, he was largely dismissive.
"I don't have anything on this particular filing," Gensler said outside an Investment Company Institute event in Washington.
"We do it within the law and how the courts interpret the law, and that's what I'm very committed to," he said, after noting on stage at the event that the agency had responded to D.C. A Circuit Court of Appeals decision rejected the SEC's approach to a bitcoin (BTC) spot ETF earlier this year.
The SEC, after weeks of limited engagement, asked exchanges supporting spot ether ETF applications to re-file their forms 19b-4 with universal language earlier this week. The forms were submitted to the SEC on Tuesday, and the exchange began publishing them online that evening. The SEC also appears to have begun engaging with potential issuers themselves, as companies like Fidelity and Grayscale filed updated S-1 forms this week. The SEC must make a final decision on at least one spot ether ETF application by the end of the day Thursday.
Based on this form, it appears the SEC is uncomfortable with the idea that an ether ETF issuer might risk any assets.
Industry participants previously told CoinDesk that while the SEC's moves this week do not guarantee ETF approval, they make it more likely that the ETF will be approved.
"[The] DC Circuit took a different view, and we considered it and pivoted," Gensler said Thursday.
Gensler also reiterated on Thursday that his agency will continue to work on its opposition to the crypto bill passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday.
"We will continue to be involved," he said. "That's just an area where token operators - without prejudice to any of them - are not making disclosures that investors can actually benefit from and are required by law."
"We have seen leaders in this field find themselves on a path to prison or extradition," he added.
And when asked about Congress seeking to reverse his agency's crypto accounting policies, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 121 (SAB 121), he argued that the agency intended it to serve as guidance at a time when failed crypto companies should treat customer assets the same as they would themselves in bankruptcy.
"The crypto that these companies say they take custody of is actually part of the bankruptcy estate," Gensler said. "That's what we're discussing in 2022," he added, saying it was "just" an accounting bulletin.
