Grayscale Hires Former Solicitor General To Help Force Bitcoin ETF Approval

By Kevin • June 9, 2022 3:52 pm • Comments

So far, the SEC has consistently rejected all proposals to get a spot Bitcoin ETF approved on the market much to many asset firms’ disappointment.

One of the biggest digital asset managers, Grayscale, has now announced that they have hired the former solicitor general to help force a Bitcoin ETF approval.

This move is seen as part of the firm’s strategy to deal with the SEC’s rejection of its recent application for a spot Bitcoin ETF that may get rejected on July 6th.

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Investors are paying attention to this move as a success in getting a spot ETF approved for digital assets could likely open the door for many future crypto ETFs getting approved in the future.

This would likely create a chain effect that could drastically increase the amount of capital that enters the crypto markets.

CoinTelegraph reports:

The company has been waiting on a decision from the SEC to convert its flagship $19.8 billion Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) into a spot-based ETF, since filing its application to the regulator on October 19, 2021.

The SEC has pushed back its decision on multiple occasions, once in December and again in February. A final decision on the application is expected on July 6.

Jake Chervinsky, head of policy at the crypto advocacy group Blockchain Association said adding such firepower to Grayscale’s legal team was a “strong move”, and that the SEC would have little chance of “surviving a legal challenge” if it decided to knock back approval now.

In March, Grayscale CEO Michael Sonnenshein told Bloomberg that his firm would consider a lawsuit under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) should the application for its Bitcoin Spot ETF be denied by the financial regulator.

As mentioned before, it looks like Grayscale is prepared to do whatever it can to make this happen and is ready to sue the SEC if needed.

The hired former solicitor general, Donald B. Verrilli Jr., is a veteran lawyer that has extensive experience such as doing more than 50 cases before the US Supreme Court.

The news of his hire has already been publicly promoted by Grayscale and many other financial institutions are paying attention.

For example, the market maker Citadel Securities commented that they are ready to support crypto ETFs once they finally get the regulator’s approval.

CryptoBriefing.com reports:

“As we enter the final month before a response is due on our application to convert $GBTC to an ETF, we have retained Donald B. Verrilli, Jr., former Solicitor General of the United States, as additional legal counsel,” the official Grayscale account confirmed in a Twitter thread.

The firm allegedly wants to be prepared “for all scenarios,” which—judging by its earlier statements—could include suing the securities agency over the matter.

“we have ensured that GBTC is operationally ready to convert to an ETF and have been exploring options should the SEC not allow GBTC to convert to an ETF,” Rosenthal said when announcing the hiring move yesterday.

The upcoming SEC decision is due on the July 6 deadline and the result of that could potentially mean big things for the crypto market.

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