SEC to Hold Critical Meeting on November 2: Approval for Spot Bitcoin ETFs Possible!

• The agency has organized a closed-door meeting with officials, including commissioners, advisers to commissioners, the commission secretary, and registration secretaries.
• The court had prompted the SEC to reconsider the Grayscale ETF decision by highlighting similarities to already approved Bitcoin futures ETFs in Grayscale’s proposal.
• The meeting may address whether the SEC wants to request more time before making a decision or if it will seek court approval.

The US Securities and Exchange Commission will hold a closed meeting on November 2: What will be discussed at this meeting?

SEC to Hold Closed Meeting on November 2

Following a recent instruction from the U.S. District D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to reconsider Grayscale’s spot Bitcoin ETF approval application, the agency is likely preparing for a high-level discussion on the same matter.

The agency has organized a closed-door meeting with officials, including commissioners, advisers to commissioners, the commission secretary, and registration secretaries. The SEC’s closed meeting comes after the appeal deadline for a conversion to Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) passed on August 29, 2023.

Additionally, the court had prompted the SEC to reconsider the Grayscale ETF decision by highlighting similarities to already approved Bitcoin futures ETFs in Grayscale’s proposal. The announcement for the November 2, 2023, meeting states:

“The subject matter of the closed meeting will include the following matters: establishment and compromise of prohibitions; initiation and compromise of management processes; resolution of litigation requests and other matters related to enforcement and examinations.”

It remains to be seen at the meeting whether the SEC wants to request more time before making a decision or if it will seek court approval. The deadline that ended on October 13, 2023, led to a limited approval process for the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the U.S.

Will Grayscale Lead the Way?

The general market sentiment is that the SEC will approve all current spot ETF applications simultaneously. However, the Grayscale application has the advantage of an August 2023 court decision that rejected the SEC’s argument against ETF approval. Previously, positive comments came from Galaxy Digital’s CEO, Mike Novogratz, who said on October 18, 2023, that approval for a Bitcoin spot ETF was expected to happen at any time in 2023.