Grayscale Ready for A Supreme Court Battle With U.S. SEC Over Spot Bitcoin ETF

After the rejection of converting GBTC to a spot Bitcoin ETF last month, Grayscale was quick to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The world’s largest crypto asset manager conducted a recent Q&A addressing investor queries over spot Bitcoin ETF.

The Appellate court is currently reviewing Grayscale’s application to review the SEC decision. However, in case Grayscale loses at the Appellate level, it is ready to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

However, another option Grayscale could explore is an “en banc” hearing. In case of an en banc hearing, there will not be random judges making a decision about the case. The entire group of judges in the D.C. Circuit will collectively weigh-in to arrive at a final decision. However, this kind of hearing is rare and occurs only in the case of a split decision or there isn’t a strong justification for the decision.

What’s the Timeline for Settling the Case?

The spot Bitcoin ETF issue has been going on for years now and the U.S. SEC seems in no mood of getting this product in the market. On the other hand, Grayscale remains determined to launch this product in the market.

One of the Q&A questions was what could be the approximate timelines of the legal battle. Responding to it Grayscale noted:

We can’t be certain about timing, but based on how long federal litigation tends to take – including briefings, oral arguments, and a final court decision – it can typically take anywhere from twelve months to two years, but could be shorter or longer. However long it takes, we believe the strength of our arguments should result in a final decision in our favor at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The crypto market has faced a brutal correction this year and regulators are likely to have greater scrutiny. But as the market attains maturity with time, we expect the SEC to get more comfortable with approving a spot Bitcoin ETF.