Grayscale Investments CEO Michael Sonnenschein expressed optimism about the possible approval of a spot exchange traded bitcoin fund (ETF).
The reason for his optimism was the SEC’s approval of Teucrium’s futures ETF application. The fund was registered under the Securities Act of 1933, not the Investment Company Act of 1940 used by other futures ETFs.
“From the SEC’s perspective, 40 Act products had several protections that 33 Act products did not have. But never did those funds address the SEC’s concerns about bitcoin and the possibility of fraud or manipulation,” Sonnenschein emphasized.
Earlier, SEC Chairman Gary Gensler said the new document provides stronger protections for investors.
According to Sonnenschein, the protections include an independent board, accounting and custody rules.
“In our view, it’s really a matter of when, not if. If the SEC can’t look at two identical issues, a futures ETF and a spot ETF, through the same prism, then that’s basically a potential basis for violating the Administrative Procedures Act,” he added.
The SEC has yet to approve any applications to launch a spot bitcoin ETF.