U.S. Lawmakers Urge SEC Chair to Approve BTC ETFs “Immediately”

Four Congress members have written to SEC chair Gary Gensler, urging him to consider spot Bitcoin ETF approvals immediately.

by Brian Danga. Fact checked by: Ciaran Lawler, Editor: Stefan Trapp

Published: September 27, 2023 │ 8:15 AM GMT

An Eagle seeing Bitcoin ETF hovering over Capitol. — *Created by Kornelija Poderskytė from DailyCoin*

Congress members have urged Gary Gensler to approve spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The lawmakers believe that an approval would protect investors.
Gensler will appear before a Congress committee on September 27 to respond to this, among other concerns by the lawmakers.

Four lawmakers of the U.S. Congress have expressed their concerns about the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) chair’s hesitation to greenlight the listing of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the country.

According to the lawmakers, who are also members of the House Financial Services Committee, the securities watchdog chair should approve spot Bitcoin ETFs “immediately,” especially after the court found the commission’s reasoning in denial of Grayscale’s application to be “arbitrary and capricious.”

Discrimination Against Spot Bitcoin ETPs

In a letter dated September 26 and addressed to SEC chair Gary Gensler, representatives Mike Flood, Tom Emmer, Ritchie Torres, and Wiley Nickel claimed that the SEC had continuously discriminated against spot Bitcoin ETFs following the position of the Court of Appeals that the commission violated the Administrative Procedures Act when it denied Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin Trust into an ETF.

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“The Court of Appeals concluded that in the absence of a coherent explanation, this unlike regulatory treatments of like products is unlawful. The Court’s finding underscores the fundamental point. A spot Bitcoin ETP is indistinguishable from a Bitcoin futures ETP. Thus, the SEC’s current posture is untenable moving forward.” The letter read.

Further, the representatives stated that market participants have always relied on the commission’s statements imploring them to “come in and register,” a call that many have heeded and have filed applications for a regulated spot Bitcoin ETP, arguing that such applications shouldn’t be denied anymore based on inconsistent and discriminatory standards.

Protecting Investors

Per the lawmakers, a regulated spot Bitcoin ETP would enhance protection for investors by making access to Bitcoin safer and more transparent.

The open letter comes as Gensler is scheduled to appear before the House Financial Services Committee on September 27 to be grilled on SEC oversight, where he might also address the concerns of the four representatives.