Court Clears the Path for Bitcoin Spot ETF: Bitcoin Surges $2000 Intraday

Court Clears the Path for Bitcoin Spot ETF: Bitcoin Surges $2000 Intraday

Court Clears the Path for Bitcoin Spot ETF: Bitcoin Surges $2000 Intraday.

A recent ruling by a U.S. judge has raised the likelihood of the long-awaited Bitcoin spot exchange-traded fund (ETF) coming to fruition, causing Bitcoin and related concept stocks to surge.

On Tuesday, August 29th, in Washington, D.C., the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, consisting of three judges, announced a joint decision that overturned the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) denial from last year.

This decision brings digital asset management company Grayscale Investments LLC one step closer to launching a Bitcoin spot ETF.

Media comments suggest that if Grayscale’s Bitcoin spot ETF is approved, it could be a watershed moment for the cryptocurrency industry, potentially attracting billions of dollars in investments from ordinary investors.

Last June, the SEC rejected Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin trust, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC), into a Bitcoin spot ETF.

The SEC believed that Grayscale’s plan to list the Bitcoin spot ETF on the NYSE Arca, a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange, was insufficient to prevent fraud and market manipulation.

Grayscale promptly appealed the SEC’s decision, alleging discrimination against its product, as the SEC had previously approved similar Bitcoin futures ETFs.

This Tuesday, the appeals court stated that Grayscale had presented substantial evidence demonstrating that its products were similar to the Bitcoin futures ETFs previously approved by the SEC.

The underlying assets of both products are closely related, and Grayscale’s custody sharing agreement is “identical” to that of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), which launched Bitcoin futures ETFs.

One of the judges involved in the decision, Neomi Rao, stated that the SEC’s rejection of Grayscale’s application was “arbitrary and capricious,” and the SEC failed to explain why similar products received different treatment.

Following the appeals court’s decision, Grayscale stated that it was a “milestone for U.S. investors.”

Currently, the SEC can challenge Tuesday’s appeals court ruling by requesting a review by all judges of the appeals court or by seeking a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Within the next 45 days, the SEC can ask the appeals court’s full panel of judges to reconsider Tuesday’s decision.

If the appeals court refuses to hear the case again, the SEC will have 90 days to request Supreme Court review.

After the appeals court’s ruling was announced, Bitcoin, Grayscale’s GBTC, and several cryptocurrency concept stocks saw significant intraday surges on Tuesday.

During the early trading session of the U.S. stock market, the Bitcoin spot trading price quickly jumped from just under $26,000 to above $27,000, reaching over $28,100 at one point, marking an intraday high since August 17th, with an increase of over $2,200, nearly 9%.

GBTC’s trading price rose from under $18 to above $20, with its intraday gain expanding from less than 1% to over 20%.

Among concept stocks, Marathon Digital (MARA) surged over 30%, the largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange and digital currency exchange Coinbase (COIN) rose 17%, and others like Cipher Mining (CIFR), Hut 8 Mining (HUT), Riot Platforms (RIOT), Bitfarms (BITF), Stronghold Digital (SDIG), Hive Digital (HIVE), and Bit Digital (BTBT) all saw intraday gains exceeding 10%.

Tuesday also brought good news to the cryptocurrency industry. Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, obtained a “Rhode Island Virtual Currency Transfer License.”

This license allows holders to control and trade virtual currencies on behalf of others.

Such licenses are typically granted to businesses that provide cryptocurrency-related services, such as cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, and payment processors.

X obtaining this license means that over 400 million users may directly engage in cryptocurrency transactions, significantly advancing the adoption of cryptocurrencies.

Court Clears the Path for Bitcoin Spot ETF: Bitcoin Surges $2000 Intraday