Community reacts after SEC’s Gensler affirms BTC’s commodity status
Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Gary Gensler riled up Crypto Twitter on Monday after affirming that Bitcoin (BTC) is a commodity. Questions were raised about its impact on Grayscales’ proposed Bitcoin ETF and why Ethereum wasn’t mentioned.
Speaking to Jim Cramer on CNBC’s Squawk Box on Monday, June 27, the SEC chair said while many crypto-financial assets have the key attribute of a security, Bitcoin is the “only one” that he was comfortable publicly labeling as a commodity.
The remarks kicked up chatter about Grayscale’s application to convert its Bitcoin Trust into a spot-based exchange-traded fund (ETF) — which is expected to see a yes-or-no decision from the SEC on July 6.
James Seyffart, an ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence, told his 19,300 Twitter followers that while Gensler’s remarks are positive for Bitcoin, it may not be enough to see Grayscale’s Bitcoin-spot ETF approved next week.
This isn't new from Gensler, but definitely positive IMO. Unfortunately this isn't enough for approval of $GBTC's conversion into a spot #Bitcoin ETF. Odds of SEC approval next week (or this week) are near zero in our opinion. https://t.co/mvRnkajGdd
Eric Balchunas, a senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, made similar comments, noting he saw only a 0.5% chance of Grayscale’s GBTC being allowed to convert to an ETF.
Crypto Twitter also picked up on the fact that Gensler refrained from mentioning whether he placed Ethereum (ETH) in the same commodities boat, despite the regulator and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) previously agreeing that the asset was a commodity just like Bitcoin.
Any thoughts on why Gensler didn't mention Ethereum as a commodity today? https://t.co/GjN5so63O3 #ethereum
Nevertheless,
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