On Aug. 29, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (Court) vacated the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission)’s denial of Grayscale Investments, LLC (Grayscale)’s application for a spot bitcoin exchanged-traded product (ETP). The unanimous three-judge panel found the Commission’s denial arbitrary and capricious, as it failed to justify differing treatment of similar products even though they were subject to identical surveillance sharing agreements with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). The Commission had previously approved the listing of two bitcoin futures ETPs after entering into certain surveillance sharing agreements with the CME to address concerns related to fraud and manipulation. The Commission has 45 days to appeal the Court’s decision.
SEC Denial of Proposed Bitcoin Exchange-Traded Product Arbitrary and Capricious: DC Circuit
