Grayscale CEO: Bitcoin ETF Is The ‘Lowest Hanging Fruit’ For Regulators

Grayscale chief executive officer Michael Sonnenshein said on Thursday a spot Bitcoin ETF is the lowest hanging fruit in terms of regulatory efforts to ease the environment in the crypto market. He made the statement to counter Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire’s views that the stablecoin legislation would be the easiest and fundamental thing to do for regulators. Sonnenshein said there was no need for new legislation to bring a Bitcoin ETF. There are tried and truly existing rules and regulations to give investors exposure to the asset.

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Grayscale has been legally fighting the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) opposition to approve its spot Bitcoin ETF application. The company fundamentally argued that the SEC was unfair in rejecting its spot Bitcoin ETF while it allowed Bitcoin futures contracts. In a latest development, the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) on Thursday announced it will offer Bitcoin index futures and options derivatives trading and clearing services. The LSE partnered with Global Futures and Options (GFO-X) to launch the United Kingdom’s first regulated Bitcoin futures and options trading platform.

Hopes On Bitcoin ETF In 2023

Speaking at a session organized by Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest, Sonnenshein said he was hopeful of the approval for its Bitcoin ETF in 2023. On March 7, 2023, Grayscale opened the arguments in the case against the SEC. The CEO expects a decision from the court by the third quarter of 2023.

Paul Grewal, the chief legal officer at Coinbase, observed that judges overseeing crypto related court cases have been looking at regulators’ views with skepticism. He referred to the example of the Voyager bankruptcy case wherein the judge said the regulators made a mess out of the situation. The courts are actually giving us a lot of reason to believe that there could be a fair hearing, he added.

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