Grayscale Files Lawsuit Against SEC Over Spot Bitcoin ETF Rejection

June 30, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Grayscale Sues SEC Over Spot Bitcoin ETF Application Rejection

June 30, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Grayscale reports 99% of SEC comment letters support spot Bitcoin ETF

June 27, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Bitcoin

“The approval of each and every Bitcoin-linked investment product strengthens our arguments about why the U.S. market deserves a spot Bitcoin ETF," said CEO Michael Sonnenshein.

Digital asset manager Grayscale reported overwhelming support in public comments for its application to launch a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

In a Monday letter to investors, Grayscale said that of the more than 11,400 letters the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, had received in regards to its proposed Bitcoin (BTC) investment vehicle, “99.96 percent of those comment letters were supportive of Grayscale’s case” as of June 9. According to Grayscale, roughly 33% of the letters questioned the lack of a spot BTC ETF in the U.S., given the SEC had already approved investment vehicles linked to Bitcoin futures, as was the case for ProShares and Valkyrie.

“The SEC’s actions over the past eight months [...] have signaled an increased recognition of and comfort with the maturity of the underlying Bitcoin market,” said Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein. “The approval of each and every Bitcoin-linked investment product strengthens our arguments about why the U.S. market deserves a spot Bitcoin ETF.”

A message from @Sonnenshein for $GBTC investors, on everything we’ve done and everything we’re ready to do: https://t.co/j1FpuLCpKY pic.twitter.com/6vQKVT97V4
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) June 27, 2022

The regulatory body is currently reviewing Grayscale’s application allowing the firm to convert shares of its Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a physically-backed fund, which, if approved, would be the first spot BTC ETF offering in the United States. The application is nearing the end of a 240-day review process, which started in November 2021 and ends on July 6.

Though Grayscale’s campaign to encourage public comments with the SEC has been ongoing since February, many industry experts have suggested the regulatory body approving such an offering was unlikely. The SEC rejected similar applications from NYDIG, and Global X as recently as March, and One River Digital in May. SEC chair Gary Gensler has often pivoted in interviews when questioned as to when the commission could approve a spot Bitcoin ETF, saying in February that he would give the matter “careful consideration.”

“[In my opinion] the chances of GBTC being allowed to convert to an ETF next week are 0.5%,” said Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas. “About the same odds the NY Jets have of winning the Super Bowl.”

It’s unclear what moves Grayscale may make if the SEC denies its application next week. The firm said it was “unequivocally committed” to converting its BTC trust to an ETF, hiring a former U.S. Solicitor General in June to work as a senior legal strategist for its application. In May, the digital asset manager launched a crypto-linked ETF on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Börse Xetra.

GBTC premium hits -34% all-time low as crypto funds ‘puke out’ tokens

June 17, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Arthur Hayes

Dark days for crypto institutional investors as contagion fears are magnified and asset prices tumble.

The largest Bitcoin investment vehicle, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), is now trading at its biggest ever discount to the spot market.

Data from on-chain analytics resource Coinglass shows GBTC shares down 34% versus BTC/USD on major exchanges as of June 17.

GBTC suffers in market downturn

Amid continued turmoil in DeFi spilling over to infect the crypto market, conditions have deteriorated for investors big and small.

The latest figures now show that institutions have definitively failed to avoid the contagion, and the already underperforming GBTC has hit new lows.

The GBTC premium, long a misnomer due to the fund’s shares in fact costing less than Bitcoin itself, is circling its lowest values in history. On June 17, these traded at 34.2% cheaper than the Bitcoin spot price (also known as net asset value or NAV).

A sharp downturn accompanied a similar dip on spot markets as BTC/USD retested $20,000 twice.

*GBTC premium vs. asset holdings vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Coinglass*

As Grayscale pursues United States regulators for permission to convert GBTC to a Bitcoin spot price exchange-traded fund (ETF), conditions continue to look unfavorable for crypto institutional products amid heightened government attention in the wake of the Terra and Celsius meltdowns.

While the firm remains buoyant on the outlook, GBTC’s performance has not escaped commentators, who point the finger at regulators for what they see as inaccurate risk assessment.

Bitcoin spot ETFs remain outlawed in the U.S. due to investor protection concerns, allowing countries such as Canada and Australia to gain first-mover advantage.

Shares of $GBTC are now 66.9% lower than they were at the peak of 2017 despite $BTC trading 5% higher.

Make sure to thank Mr. Gensler for the protection everyone. pic.twitter.com/Q1cAw8hBtR
— Dylan LeClair (@DylanLeClair_) June 16, 2022

“Without ETF approval GBTC may go to -100% premium to NAV,” Vijay Boyapati joked this week.

Hayes names D-Day for crypto market bottom

This situation has not been helped by reported liquidity problems at multiple crypto funds with exposure to those already facing severe losses. Embattled Three Arrows Capital (known as 3AC), for example, is the largest GBTC holder with over 38.8 million shares.

As 3AC fails to meet margin call requirements this week, a marked gap is opening between GBTC and its competition. The ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), the first U.S. approved ETF based on Bitcoin futures, has even added BTC to its assets under management in recent days.

For Arthur Hayes, former head of derivatives giant BitMEX, some of the biggest names in crypto institutional investing are thus facing a “River Styx” moment.

In his latest blog post on June 17, Hayes delivered a fresh blow to the fate of embattled projects Celsius, Terra and more.

“As this cohort of firms is forced to puke out any asset that is not locked in some long-term yield strategy, look out below,” he predicted.

“More indiscriminate selling of all liquid assets on their loan books will occur so these lending firms may return assets to their retail depositors.”

Having previously called a bottom of $1,000 for Ether (ETH) and $25,000 for Bitcoin, Hayes acknowledged that the reality had been much worse.

The upcoming July 4 holiday weekend, he added, should provide ideal conditions for a macro bottom, particularly as Q2 comes to a close.

“June 30 to July 5 is going to be a wild ride to the downside,” the blog post continues.

“My $25,000 to $27,000 Bitcoin and $1,700 to $1,800 Ether bottom levels lay in tatters. How low can we go? I believe we’ll find out on this fateful weekend.”

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.

Grayscale Hires Former Solicitor General Ahead of Bitcoin ETF Decision

June 8, 2022 The Crypto Briefing

Investors Unfazed by Bitcoin (BTC) and Crypto Sell-Off, Says Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein

May 24, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Grayscale Launches European ETF While Urging SEC to Approve GBTC Conversion Into Spot Bitcoin ETF

May 16, 2022 Bitcoin.com

Bitcoin investment giant Grayscale debuts ETF in Europe

May 16, 2022 Coin Telegraph

Coin Telegraph

Grayscale announced its first European ETF, listing on the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana and Deutsche Börse Xetra.

Crypto investment giant Grayscale is expanding operations by launching a new crypto-linked exchange-traded fund (ETF) in Europe.

Grayscale officially announced its first European ETF, called Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF, on May 16.

The new investment product is getting listings on major European stock exchanges, including the London Stock Exchange, Borsa Italiana as well as Deutsche Börse’s electronic trading platform Xetra. Listed under the ticker symbol GFOF, the ETF will also be passported for sale across Europe.

An exciting milestone: Announcing our first European ETF, Grayscale Future of Finance UCITS ETF — listing on London Stock Exchange (LSE), Borsa Italiana, and Deutsche Börse Xetra.
https://t.co/kwmWSxvOiV
— Grayscale (@Grayscale) May 16, 2022

Launched in partnership with Bloomberg, GFOF UCITS ET tracks the performance of the Bloomberg Grayscale Future of Finance Index. Bloomberg and Grayscale jointly introduced the index in January 2022, aiming to track the digital economy, focusing on three main directions like technology, finance and digital assets.

According to the announcement, the new ETF includes companies directly involved in cryptocurrency mining, energy management and other activities in the digital asset ecosystem.

“Through GFOF UCITS ETF, European investors now have the opportunity to receive exposure to the companies that are pivotal to the evolution of the global financial system,” Grayscale’s global head of ETFs David LaValle said.

Grayscale also collaborated with Europe’s white-label issuer HANetf to create the new investment product. The issuer is known for cooperating on blockchain ETFs with companies like ETC Group.

Grayscale is one of the world’s largest Bitcoin (BTC) investment companies, providing the Grayscale Bitcoin BTC Trust (GBTC) with $18.3 billion in assets under management. Amid massive market volatility, GBTC recorded a significant decline, trading at a nearly 31% discount on May 13.

The firm has been aggressively pushing its Bitcoin spot ETF, with CEO Michael Sonnenshein claiming that Grayscale was gearing up for a legal fight with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission if its ETF is denied. The firm reportedly tried to persuade the SEC that turning the biggest BTC fund into an ETF would unlock $8 billion for investors.

The news comes amid the increasing adoption of crypto and industry-related ETFs worldwide, with total assets invested in crypto ETFs hitting $16.3 billion in Q1 2022.

21Shares, a major crypto ETF issuer in Europe, recently expanded its investment offering with a Layer 1 and decentralized finance (DeFi) infrastructure exchange-traded products (ETPs).

Listed on SIX Swiss Exchange on May 12, the 21Shares Crypto Layer 1 ETP (LAY1) offers investors exposure to the five largest blockchains in the DeFi industry. The 21Shares DeFi 10 Infrastructure ETP (DEFI) will list on the same exchange on 18 May.

Canadian Bitcoin ETF adds 6.9K BTC in one day as GBTC discount hits record low

May 13, 2022 Coin Telegraph

bitcoin etf

It's a polarizing world in institutional Bitcoin offerings this week as Grayscale's CEO remains convinced demand will return.

Bitcoin (BTC) descending to $24,000 has cost its largest institutional investment vehicle more than the average hodler.

According to data from on-chain monitoring resource Coinglass on May 13, the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) is now trading at a nearly 31% discount.

Grayscale CEO: Investors are "waiting for things to settle down"

Amid ongoing market volatility this week, GBTC has seen its fledgling recovery fall flat on its face — for the time being.

The so-called GBTC premium, long in negative territory and thus a discount in practice, has now reached its lowest ever.

As of May 13, the discount was 30.6%, meaning that shares in GBTC traded at almost one third below the Bitcoin spot price (referred to as net asset value, or NAV).

The figures mark a distinct turnaround for the premium, which in mid-April had managed to rise to a 21% discount.

Overall, however, GBTC has long traded at a discount amid ongoing attempts by Grayscale to convert it to an exchange-traded fund (ETF).

“It took clarity and conviction to set up GBTC, and now Grayscale is demonstrating courage and commitment in their campaign to convert GBTC into a Spot Bitcoin ETF. They deserve your support,” MicroStrategy CEO, Michael Saylor, argued this week, inviting Twitter followers to demand that U.S. regulators green-light the plans.

Such a move would be unprecedented in the United States, where the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has lagged behind other countries’ authorities in approving a Bitcoin spot-based ETF.

Despite the turbulence, meanwhile, Grayscale CEO, Michael Sonnenshein, remained as optimistic as ever on GBTC and institutional demand for Bitcoin exposure.

“I think that some investors are likely waiting for things to settle down,” he told CNBC in an interview on May 12.

“I do think when things settle down and crypto starts to find its footing you will see some of those more institutional buyers starting to step in and some have already indicated that they are in fact starting to take buys at these levels.”

Purpose Bitcoin ETF sees record daily buy

Over the border in Canada, the world’s first Bitcoin spot ETF has conversely benefited from the week’s trading conditions.

The Purpose Bitcoin ETF added 6,903 BTC in a single day on May 13, marking its biggest single-day buy-in in its history.

Purpose now has 41,620 BTC under management, beating its previous 36,322 BTC high set in March this year.

*Purpose Bitcoin ETF BTC holdings vs. BTC/USD chart. Source: Coinglass*

The jump accompanied the launch of Australia's first spot ETFs, one of which, the Cosmos-Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF (CBTC), bought shares in the Canadian Purpose offering.

Important to note: Yesterday two Bitcoin ETFs did launch in Australia. One of them, the Cosmos-Purpose Bitcoin Access ETF ($CBTC) is getting exposure to BTC by buying shares of the Canadian #Bitcoin Purpose spot ETF. So the latter is now essentially reflecting two ETFs.
— Jan Wüstenfeld (@JanWues) May 13, 2022

Grayscale Meets With SEC To Persuade Approval of First Ever Spot Market Bitcoin (BTC) ETF: Report

May 12, 2022 The Daily Hodl

Grayscale

GBTC suffers in market downturn

Hayes names D-Day for crypto market bottom

Grayscale CEO: Investors are "waiting for things to settle down"

Purpose Bitcoin ETF sees record daily buy

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