The United States Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) has once again postponed its decision on spot Bitcoin ETF applications from several firms, including Blackrock (NYSE:BLK), Invesco, Valkyrie, and Bitwise. The delay was announced on Tuesday, following a congressional hearing where SEC Chairman Gary Gensler faced intense questioning.
Most of these firms had submitted their applications for a spot Bitcoin ETF in June 2023. The first decision to postpone the ETF was made in late August 2023. The SEC's recent statement clarified that the initiation of proceedings does not indicate any conclusions about the issues involved.
The postponement came a day after Gensler's appearance at a US Congressional hearing on Wednesday, September 27th. Gensler maintained his cautious stance on the crypto market during the hearing. He criticized crypto companies for their handling of customer funds, suggesting that commingling of funds could lead to poor outcomes.
Gensler's comments followed the court hearing of Sam Bankman-Fried, former CEO of the now-bankrupt crypto exchange FTX. The exchange collapsed in November 2022 after reports surfaced that its exchange token – FTT constituted the majority of its balance sheet. During its bankruptcy process, allegations of funds commingling between Alameda and FTX also made headlines.
While Gensler agreed that Bitcoin was not a security, he refrained from making a decision on its commodity status. He also mentioned that the commission is yet to act on the court’s order regarding its Grayscale decision. The crypto asset management company had attempted to convert its GBTC into a spot Bitcoin ETF, but this move was rejected by the SEC. The judge later deemed this rejection as "arbitrary and capricious".
Meanwhile, amid concerns over a potential US government shutdown, Bitcoin price has seen an increase over the last 24 hours. On-chain data from Santiment shows that Bitcoin wallets holding between 10 to 10,000 BTC currently have the highest amount held in 2023, suggesting a high level of confidence in the crypto asset market. Industry observers speculate if this could be due to anticipated favorable developments around spot Bitcoin ETF approval in 2024.
The SEC's delay on the filings from Blackrock and Bitwise was followed by a delay on the Invesco filing too on September 28, 2023. This makes it four filings delayed out of the seven applications for spot ETF.
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