Grayscale Investments scored a resounding victory in its long-running lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in late August. The lawsuit began in October 2022 after the company filed a lawsuit in D.C. Circuit Court to order conversion of Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into ETF.

The US SEC has until the morning of October 14 to appeal

The US SEC has until the morning of October 14 (Vietnam time) to appeal the losing judgment against Grayscale Investments. According to the August 29 victory for Grayscale, the court determined that the SEC's rejection of Grayscale's spot ETF proposal was "arbitrary and capricious."

“Ordered and heard Grayscale's petition for reconsideration is granted and the Commission's order is vacated, in the opinion of the court.”

The basis for such a ruling was that the commission could not explain why similar products were treated differently. Accordingly, the SEC will have to reconsider the rejection decision and will likely approve the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the United States.

The SEC has 45 days to appeal the ruling: starting on August 29 and the deadline is the morning of October 14 (Vietnam time). There were two options presented to the committee. The first is to go to the Supreme Court or the En banc Council for reconsideration (En banc is a retrial of the case with the participation of the entire court, not just the 3-judge panel). Second, refuse the application on other grounds for another time.

However, if the SEC does not appeal, that is roughly equivalent to approval. Furthermore, it could serve as a signal whether a Bitcoin spot ETF may soon appear on the market.

Previously, Berenberg analysts pointed out that the SEC could use other arguments to reject Grayscale's Bitcoin spot ETF. According to German Bank analysts, Coinbase's participation in the Bitcoin spot ETF campaign could add to regulators' concerns while strengthening their arguments against it.

This comes as Coinbase is involved in a lawsuit initiated by the US SEC, fighting charges of operating as an unregistered securities exchange.

Bitcoin ETF spot could create a lot of selling pressure

Meanwhile, one YouTuber and analyst has predicted there will be a lot of selling pressure if a spot Bitcoin ETF is approved, given the current 17% Grayscale GBTC discount. The trust currently records approximately $16.6 billion in assets under management (AUM). However, it trades like a closed-end fund so the price can vary significantly from the underlying asset value.

With Grayscale currently holding around 636896 BTC (about $17.082 billion at current rates), they typically have more Bitcoin than the actual market value ($16.6 billion), hence the discount. .

Source: Crypto Rover

Once the ETF is approved, investors can sell it for a profit margin of at least 20-30%. This implies that the 636,696 Bitcoins that Grayscale owns may be available on the market.

https://tapchibitcoin.io/sec-hoa-ky-se-lam-gi-khi-het-han-khang-cao-phan-quyet-grayscale-vao-sang-mai.html