The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will not pursue an appeal of a recent court ruling that found the agency was wrong in rejecting an application from Stamford-based Grayscale Investments to deny the conversion of its Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) (OTCQX: GBTC) into a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
According to a Reuters report citing information from “a source familiar with the matter,” the SEC’s decision will speed the agency’s review of Grayscale’s application.
In August, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals questioned the SEC’s approach to the subject.
“The denial of Grayscale’s proposal was arbitrary and capricious,” the court said in its ruling. “The Commission failed to adequately explain why it approved the listing of two bitcoin futures ETPs but not Grayscale’s proposed bitcoin ETP. In the absence of a coherent explanation, this unlike regulatory treatment of like products is unlawful. We therefore grant Grayscale’s petition for review and vacate the Commission’s order.”
