There is No Reason for the SEC to Stall a Spot Bitcoin ETF: Commissioner

Markets have been eagerly awaiting SEC’s approval for a spot Bitcoin ETF all year. Word from the rumor mill of an imminent move by the SEC in October sparked a sustained rally in Bitcoin prices.

BTC traded on crypto exchanges at an average price of $26,750 on Oct 12 and then rallied 40% to $37,490 by the time Hester Peirce made her remarks in a Bloomberg TV interview published Wednesday.

SEC Commissioner Not A Fan of Gensler Approach

Speaking with Bloomberg Television’s Kailey Leinz on “Bloomberg Crypto,” the SEC commissioner said:

“I’ve thought for many years now that there’s no reason for us to stand in the way of a spot Bitcoin exchange traded product. […] We got a little bit of a nudge from the court. And we’ll see where we go from here,” Peirce added.

She was referring to a U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that the SEC’s refusal to review Grayscale Investment’s Bitcoin ETF application was arbitrary and capricious.

Crypto analyst Michaël van de Poppe hailed Peirce’s remarks as “Very positive news!” He also pointed out that Bitcoin price is on the verge of testing key resistance.

SEC Reviewing 12 Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications

The Securities and Exchange Commission is currently reviewing 12 spot Bitcoin ETF applications.

When asked if Grayscale’s application would be approved first or all of the 12 at once, Peirce said she couldn’t speak to that. “All of those are under consideration now, so I can’t speak to them,” she replied.

But Ark Invest’s Cathie Woods and Bloomberg analysts expect simultaneous approval. Meanwhile, the SEC missed a window earlier this month to approve the outstanding applications all at once before pushing back deadlines to make a final decision.

There are 14 regulated companies awaiting SEC approval. They are BlackRock, Grayscale Investments, Invesco with Galaxy Digital, 21Shares with Ark Invest, Bitwise, VanEck, Wisdomtree, Fidelity, Valkyrie, Global X ETFs, and Hashdex with Franklin Templeton.