Four members of the United States Congress called on Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Gary Gensler to “immediately” approve the list of spot Bitcoin (BTC) exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
In a letter dated September 26 addressed to Gensler, the representatives of the United States, Mike Flood, Wiley Nickel, Tom Emmer and Ritchie Torres admit that the SEC is “biased” against spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products, citing the legal precedent set by Grayscale Investments in winning a review of its own ETF offering. The four legislators told Gensler that there is “no reason to continue to deny” cryptocurrency spot ETF application after the Grayscale court decision, which ordered the SEC’s reasoning was “arbitrary and capricious” to approve previously investment vehicles tied to Bitcoin future.
“A regulated Bitcoin spot ETP can provide greater protection for investors by making access to Bitcoin more secure and transparent,” said the letter. “Congress has a duty to ensure that the SEC approves investment products that meet the requirements established by Congress.”
The lawmakers added:
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The request comes ahead of Gensler’s scheduled appearance before the House Financial Services Committee on SEC oversight. All four lawmakers are members of the committee and may discuss the matter on Sept. 27 hearing. The hearing is unlikely to be affected by the looming threat of a government shutdown with lawmakers unable to reach an agreement on spending press time.
To date, the SEC has not approved the listing of any BTC spot ETFs. Many expected the commission to reconsider pending ETF applications after the SEC’s loss to Grayscale in court last August. However, the regulator later delayed decisions on ETFs of 7 major companies: BlackRock, WisdomTree, Invesco Galaxy, Valkyrie, Bitwise, VanEck and Fidelity.
