Grayscale has been working for years to get SEC approval for a U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF and may finally be on the verge of victory.

On October 19, Grayscale Investments filed an S-3 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to register shares of the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC).

The move reflects the company’s desire to list on NYSE Arca, a subsidiary of the Chicago-based NYSE, under the ticker symbol GBTC.

The Form S-3 registration is a regulatory filing used to streamline the reporting process for registered issuers of securities, providing a streamlined path for companies looking to raise capital. By filing the Form S-3, Grayscale is indicating its readiness to issue shares on an ongoing basis following approval of the NYSE Arca application for listing of its shares on Form 19b-4 and the effectiveness of the Form S-3 registration. Share.

In other words, filing a Form S-3 indicates that Grayscale is confident that it has met all of its reporting requirements with the SEC and has requested approval to register and issue stock.

The road to approval is tortuous

The SEC’s recent decision not to appeal Grayscale’s court victory could expedite its review of Grayscale’s application. The SEC’s reluctance to challenge the August court ruling could eventually lead to a Bitcoin spot ETF, giving investors exposure to Bitcoin without directly owning it. This has been a long-term goal of Grayscale, as it could alleviate the current steep discount that GBTC shares are trading at compared to their net asset value due to the trust’s lack of a redemption feature.

This key development comes after a lengthy legal battle over the SEC’s inconsistent treatment of spot and futures Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale argued that the two fund types carry similar risks and are priced based on the same underlying spot market. The appeals court agreed, saying the SEC failed to establish substantial differences between the two arrangements, causing Grayscale’s application to be unfairly rejected.

Additionally, given the SEC’s decision not to challenge the court ruling, other asset managers such as BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco may accelerate similar applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale said it is “operationally ready” to convert GBTC into an ETF as soon as it receives SEC approval. #Grayscale  #监管