US SEC ‘Taking a New Look’ at Spot Bitcoin ETF Applications Based on Recent Court Rulings: Gary Gensler

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler says the SEC is taking a new look at spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in light of recent court rulings.

In a recent interview with CNBC, Gensler spoke about the raft of pending BTC ETF applications being reviewed by the SEC.

“I’m a chair of a commission, I’m not [going] to pre-judge anything that’s going through the process right now. And as you might know, we had in the past denied a number of these applications, but the courts here in the District of Columbia weighed in on that, and so we’re taking a new look at this based upon those court rulings.” 

Gensler is likely referring to digital asset manager Grayscale’s legal victory earlier this year. In August, a federal judge ruled that the SEC has to reconsider Grayscale’s application to launch an ETF out of its Bitcoin Trust to avoid arbitrariness and inconsistency. The regulator doesn’t plan on appealing the decision.

However, Gensler wants to caution investors about putting money in the crypto space.

“I would say this about the crypto field. This is a field that your viewers should be aware that there’s a lot of noncompliance. Noncompliance with the securities laws that are there to help give you the disclosure so you can make the investment decision, but also to protect you against fraud and manipulation, and there’s been far too much fraud and bad actors in the crypto field.”

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