© Reuters
Investing.com – The topic of a possible ETF launch in the United States has been the main catalyst for crypto market action over the past week, whether for the rise at the start of the week or the collapse that followed.
Recall that a legal victory for Grayscale against the SEC had given hope to the market on Tuesday, Judge Neomi Rao of the Washington DC Court of Appeals declared that “the refusal of Grayscale’s proposal (to transform its GBTC in bitcoin spot ETFs) was arbitrary and capricious because the Commission failed to explain the difference in treatment it applied to similar products,” here referring to bitcoin futures ETFs.
This had left crypto investors thinking that the SEC might have no choice but to cave in to Grayscale, which would also have forced it to approve many more spot Bitcoin ETFs, out of concern for fairness.
However, the regulator dashed those hopes on Thursday by announcing a 45-day postponement of its decision on all spot Bitcoin ET applications currently under review.
But, according to a note from JP Morgan analysts led by Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou on Friday, the SEC will eventually approve spot Bitcoin ETFs, or risk having to roll back the Bitcoin futures ETFs that are already in the market. .
Analysts believe that this decision will be “very disruptive and embarrassing for the SEC” and that it is therefore unlikely that the regulator will choose this path. According to them, “it is more likely that the SEC will be forced to approve applications for spot ETFs which are still pending from several asset managers, including that of Grayscale”.
Regarding the SEC’s postponement of the decision on several ETFs announced last week, which had spooked the market, JP Morgan sees it favorably, believing that this “probably indicates that several applications for bitcoin ETFs in the counting will be approved at the same time rather than giving an advantage to a single candidate”.
Indeed, multiple approvals could bring many positive elements to the sector, especially in terms of fees.
“This could be beneficial for investors, as it would allow for more competition in terms of ETF fees. Grayscale will likely face even greater pressure to reduce fees if its fund is cleared to convert. into the world’s largest bitcoin spot ETF,” the analysts added.