Grayscale Investments CEO: The US SEC should approve multiple spot Bitcoin ETF applications simultaneously.

Zhitong App has learned that Michael Sonnenshein, CEO of Grayscale Investments, stated in an interview on Monday that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) should approve multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs simultaneously. He pointed out that if the U.S. regulatory agency does not allow Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) to convert its product into a spot ETF at the same time as other applicants are approved for listing, investors in Grayscale Bitcoin Trust will be at a significant disadvantage. Sonnenshein stated in the interview, "I think, in fact, the SEC should and does want to create a level playing field. We have been advocating in public that when the commission is ready to approve spot products for listing, it should do so immediately - those issuers who are ready to launch their products in operation should be approved for listing immediately." He added that Grayscale Investments is ready to list GBTC and reiterated that once GBTC begins trading as an ETF, he will lower its fees. Currently, the trust has a fee rate of 2%. Earlier this year, Grayscale Investments won a key ruling against the SEC when it attempted to convert its trust into an ETF. However, analysts and market observers are currently trying to interpret which companies among the more than 10 companies attempting to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs will be the first to introduce their own products, considering the potential advantage in attracting investor interest and cash. When discussing the idea that the SEC may not allow GBTC to convert into an ETF while other companies are able to launch their own ETFs, Sonnenshein stated, "If they put hundreds of thousands of GBTC investors at a disadvantage, that would put them in a very bad position." In fact, the competition for Bitcoin ETFs has been going on for over a decade, and as the key deadline in early January approaches, this competition may come to an end in the next few weeks. At this time, regulatory agencies need to weigh the applications from Ark Investment and 21Shares, and analysts expect that if these two companies receive regulatory approval, other companies may also be approved. It is reported that one issue that issuers seem to be currently addressing is the distinction between physical and cash redemptions of the funds, which is a characteristic of ETFs. For physical redemption, ETF issuers exchange the underlying securities of the fund with market makers to create and redeem shares, rather than trading in cash. In the second case, the fund manager is responsible for selling securities and distributing cash to redeeming shareholders. Some analysts believe that regulatory officials are unlikely to allow physical redemption for Bitcoin ETFs because they do not want broker-dealers to have to deal with Bitcoin, which means that issuers may be working to resolve this issue. When discussing his company's preference for physical redemption, Sonnenshein stated, "Our position is that this model is effective, operates well, protects investors, creates smaller spreads, creates liquidity, and ultimately creates a positive investor experience." Since we are at a critical moment in seeing the listing of Bitcoin spot ETF, we should not break the tradition.