A federal judge has overturned the United States Securities and Exchange Commission’s decision to deny an exchange-traded fund (ETF) offering from Grayscale Investments through its Bitcoin Trust, but many experts have pointed out the court ruling will not automatically lead to the first spot Bitcoin ETF in the country.
In an Aug. 29 decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Judge Neomi Rao supported Grayscale’s position that its proposed Bitcoin (BTC) ETF was “materially similar” to Bitcoin futures exchange-traded products already approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for trading. The court largely ruled that the SEC’s justification of denying Grayscale’s Bitcoin ETF on the grounds it was not “designed to prevent fraudulent and manipulative acts and practices” was insufficient, and the matter will return to the commission for review.