SEC Considers Court Ruling on Bitcoin ETFs Amid Potential Government Shutdown

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is considering its response to a recent court decision that criticized its rejection of Grayscale Investments’ application for an Exchange-Traded Fund (ETF). This was discussed by SEC Chair Gary Gensler during a hearing with the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. This development may open doors for major firms like BlackRock, Fidelity Investments, and Invesco to initiate their own Bitcoin ETFs.

Despite this potential progress, the SEC’s efforts could be hindered by an impending government shutdown, which threatens to delay the process. The SEC has already postponed several Bitcoin ETF applications to 2024 and is facing approaching deadlines for other submissions in mid-October.

In the event of a government shutdown, roughly 92% of the SEC’s workforce could be furloughed, limiting the agency to only addressing urgent matters. Furthermore, even applications that have received approval would still need several weeks for the SEC to finalize the prospectus, making it increasingly unlikely for Bitcoin ETFs to launch in 2023.