A recent report garnered the attention of cryptocurrency communities as the U.S. government faced a potential shutdown due to disagreements within the Republican party, led by Kevin McCarthy, over overspending. This had the potential to delay cryptocurrency bills that were passed by the House Financial Services Committee in July, as briefed by Todayq News on September 26, 2023.

Following the report of a potential shutdown on September 26, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has once again delayed its decision on Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) applications. Notably affected are the applications from GlobalX and the Ark/21Shares ETF. Initially, the SEC was required to respond to GlobalX’s application by October 7, and Ark’s application was due on November 11.

Previously, the SEC had set a final deadline for the Ark/21Shares ETF application for January 10, 2024. This delay follows a series of earlier postponements, including one in August and several in early September.

However, a group of Congress members supportive of cryptocurrency, including Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres, called on SEC Chair Gary Gensler to avoid bias against spot Bitcoin ETFs. Grayscale also achieved a legal victory against the SEC, accusing the agency of inconsistent treatment by approving futures ETFs while rejecting spot Bitcoin ETFs. 

A group of Democrat and Republican lawmakers sent a letter to Genz today pleading w him to approve a spot bitcoin ETF.. via @TheBlock__ pic.twitter.com/SVhaFZurni

— Eric Balchunas (@EricBalchunas) September 26, 2023

Investors are eagerly awaiting the SEC’s response, which could either be the approval of a spot ETF or an appeal of the court’s decision. Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart has suggested that these latest delays may dampen hopes for the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF by year-end.

However, Todayq News recently reported that four U.S. Congressmen, including Mike Flood, Wiley Nickel, Tom Emmer, and Ritchie Torres, have made arguments to SEC Chair Gary Gensler to promptly approve spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs), citing Bitcoin’s current value of $26,216. They argue that the SEC’s hesitation is unjust, referencing Grayscale’s legal victory and emphasizing the need for investor protection and transparency.

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