Grayscale Got Its Answer on a Bitcoin ETF. And Didn’t Like It
The SEC rejected Grayscale’s bid to convert its Bitcoin investment product into an ETF. Now the parties are heading to court
The Grayscale booth at the Exchange ETF Conference in Miami Beach, Florida in April 2022.
Photographer: Eva Marie Uzcategui/BloombergOne of the most closely-watched fights in crypto might sound a little obscure, but it’s really important. It pits a company called Grayscale Investments against the US Securities and Exchange Commission, a crucial regulator. And it involves so-called exchange traded funds, an extremely popular type of investment vehicle, and Bitcoin, the largest and most liquid cryptocurrency. Grayscale had been lobbying regulators to allow it to convert one of its existing crypto products into an exchange traded fund, or ETF.
This week, the SEC rejected their petition. Grayscale has been very clear that they’re preparing for a fight and intend to take the fight to court, and they’ve geared up accordingly. They hired Donald Verrilli, a top White House lawyer during the Obama administration. Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld joins this episode to examine why this fight is so important to crypto.