The US Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent decision not to appeal a ruling that went against them in the Grayscale case brings the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US closer, JPMorgan argued in a research report released earlier this week.

The first approvals are likely to come in before the 10th of January, which is the final deadline for the Ark 21Shares application, JPM analysts continued.

Three judges at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled back in August that the SEC decision to allow Bitcoin futures ETFs but deny Grayscale application to transform its Bitcoin Trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF was “arbitrary and capricious”.

The SEC deadline to appeal against this ruling was last Friday, but the agency opted to do nothing, spurring hopes that the agency is switching its focus to the approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs, rather than fighting against them.

Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz told CNBC in an interview on Wednesday that he expects approvals to come in before the end of 2023.

Elsewhere, whilst he didn’t give a timeline for approval, Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal said in a separate CNBC interview noted that “the firms that have stepped forward with robust proposals for these products and services are among some of the biggest blue chips in financial services”.

Grewal was referring to applications from the likes of asset management giants like BlackRock, Fidelity, WisdomTree and Vanguard.

Several of these firms, who first filed spot Bitcoin ETF applications with the SEC back in June, tweaked their filings this week, sparking optimism that the SEC is in active dialogue with applicants, suggesting a higher likelihood of near-term approvals.

With probable bitcoin ETF approvals coming up and the halving event in April, “the crypto market could kickstart a very robust bull market,” Hu noted.

It's not surprising then that this week, as optimism about spot Bitcoin #etf approvals has risen, the BTC sellers have been reluctant to enter the market, and the BTC price has been crawling higher.

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